Kevin McGonigle is reestablishing himself as RoY favorite after ridiculous Parker Messick detour

Pretty much from the start of this season, Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle has been the presumptive favorite to take home American League Rookie of the Year honors.  He came out of the gates hot and just seemed to get better as the year went on, but he cooled off a bit and it was only natural to wonder if his Rookie of the Year case was in jeopardy.

The fact that Cleveland Guardians rookie pitcher Parker Messick was really starting to deal right as McGonigle was sliding only helped add to the perception that McGonigle might be in trouble.

Well, the Tigers rookie appears to be on much better footing now after the way he’s performed recently. In his last seven games he has hit .241/.353/.517 with two home runs and RBI.

Unfortunately, McGonigle and Messick did not get to go head-to-head when Messick faced the Tigers on September 5. McGonigle was given the day off, but it would have been very fun to see the two AL Rookie of the Year favorites square off. The nice thing is they have many more years to face each other.

But McGonigle’s recent surge may be just what he needed to clinch the Rookie of the Year crown. While Messick has been great, a pitcher has to be truly dominant to earn an award like that over a position player because they are only taking the ball every fifth day whereas a position player is out there pretty much every single game.

Tigers need Kevin McGonigle to win RoY to salvage disappointing 2026 season

It would’ve been incredibly disappointing if McGonigle had just completely fallen off and lost the award to a Guardians player, especially when Detroit's playoff hopes are now pretty much completely dashed. Yet, McGonigle’s power surge may be what saves him in the end.

While he’s always been thought of as a contact-first guy, he’s now up to 16 home runs on the season. There’s a chance he reaches 20 by the end of the year and it’s important to remember that he’s just 22 and probably hasn’t reached his full strength just yet. If he could become a 25-homer per year guy then he might have an AL MVP in his future.

It got a little scary there for a second, but thankfully McGonigle has reasserted his place as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He’s the future of the team, so it’s only fitting that he starts his career off this way. 

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