Kevin McGonigle's Silver Slugger case reminds Tigers fans of considerable drought, forgotten All-Star

The Tigers have two standout candidates to win Silver Slugger Awards this year, Dillon Dingler and Kevin McGonigle. Dingler has a clear-cut case behind the plate, especially given Shea Langeliers' month-long absence this year, but McGonigle's might be a little more complicated.

On paper, McGonigle's counting stats aren't particularly eye-catching. He has 14 home runs and 56 RBI. As a shortstop, the homers pale in comparison to Colson Montgomery's 27 homers and 73 RBI. As a third baseman, Junior Caminero also has him well beat in both categories. However, McGonigle may find his niche in the utility category, having spent close to equal time at both this year.

And there's a reason why McGonigle is the easy favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He has an elite bat at just 22 years old, in his first season in the major leagues, having skipped Triple-A entirely. His .802 OPS leads all MLB rookie shortstops and third basemen, and his .988 walk-to-strikeout rate is the second-best in baseball, inferior only to Steven Kwan.

The Tigers haven't had a rookie win a Silver Slugger since Matt Nokes all the way back in 1987, his flash-in-the-pan year.

Kevin McGonigle could be the first Tigers rookie to win a Silver Slugger since Matt Nokes

Nokes' 1987 season was one of the only true productive years of his career. He looked like the slugging catcher the Tigers needed after Lance Parrish, who won five Silver Sluggers with the Tigers, went to the Phillies in free agency.

Nokes hit .289 with an .880 OPS, in 135 games, and was selected to the All-Star team, received MVP votes, and placed third in Rookie of the Year voting. It was his lone All-Star and Silver Slugger season.

Luckily, there's very little reason to believe that McGonigle's success will be so fleeting. Despite being the early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, he's still somehow underrated. Tigers fans, writers, and broadcasters have all been marveled at exactly how advanced he is for a player so young. He may not be a massive home run hitter at any point in his career, but his consistency at the plate has literally been unmatched by any of his veteran teammates — not even by many veterans throughout the league.

McGonigle will match Nokes' All-Star selection, most likely win Rookie of the Year, and should win a Silver Slugger. And, hey, he might even get a couple of MVP votes while he's at it.

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