Detroit Tigers Top 30 Prospects for 2024: #6 Kevin McGonigle

As we get into the latter half of this countdown of Detroit Tigers prospects, we're closing in on the top five. Coming in at no. 6 on our list is Kevin McGonigle, the former prep standout from Pennsylvania, who is a 2023 draftee. He has a ton of upside and will end up sticking near the top of the prospect lists moving forward.

While McGonigle was not a first-rounder, he was taken in the compensation round after the team grabbed Max Clark near the top of the draft. McGonigle may not have had all the steam around him like Clark or even some of the other first-round prep players, but there's a lot to like with his profile. He wound up signing, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Auburn.

For the Tigers, it will be interesting to see how McGonigle projects with the Tigers organization moving forward. It will take some development, but there should be an excellent chance for him to progress through the organization with some efficiency.

It'll be interesting to see how McGonigle progresses across several levels of the organization. His ETA to get into the big leagues may be down the road, but he is still one of this organization's more exciting prospects. Let's get into things when it comes to McGongigle.

Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle has tons of upside.

Frame & Stance

McGonigle is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound frame with some physicality and strength as part of the build. He ran a 6.56 60-yard dash back in his prep days at the Perfect Game National Showcase, showcasing some great speed and twitch as part of the build.

He may have more of a compact frame and build, but there's some strength here, and with some more muscle mass added as he gets into a big-league weight room, it should project well down the line. He's a left-handed hitter with a slightly open stance, weight favoring the back leg, and a bent back knee.

He uses a hanging leg lift trigger to load up and then stride into contact. There's tons of quickness and twitch that allows him to turn and burn through the zone. He's a quick bat with acceleration through contact and a direct path. As a prep standout, he had one of the best bat-to-ball skill sets in the class.

Defense

McGonigle is listed as a shortstop/second baseman who has good twitch and fluid actions defensively. He's able to move well, and he has the tools to stick at shortstop, but the frame leads me to believe he profiles as more of a second baseman. He might get a chance to play short on his Road to Detroit, but he's likely to handle second base.

2023 Stats

Last year, after being drafted, McGonigle was able to show off his skill set. He got his feet wet in the minors with 21 games overall. He played nine games of rookie ball on the backfields and 12 at the Single-A Lakeland level as he debuted within the organization.

McGonigle has logged 21 games with the affiliate, with 73 at-bats under his belt. He slashed .315/.452/.411 with four doubles and a home run, driving in six runs. He was walked 18 times with just ten strikeouts in 2023—quite the debut, being able to handle the stick well once again.

The power and extra-base hits were less prevalent. However, with more walks than strikeouts and high exit velocities, there's a lot to like moving forward. It may have been a brief debut since he had to head to Lakeland after the draft and get acclimated. However, it's promising moving forward.

Kevin McGonigle's outlook for the Detroit Tigers moving forward.

McGonigle has made some noise already. He was able to start his career in affiliate ball off quite well. With a loud performance and an intriguing profile to like moving forward, he might just be able to vault himself through levels of the Tigers organization.

There's no telling exactly where McGonigle will start in 2024, but he'll head back to rookie ball and look to begin an ascent toward the big leagues. McGonigle may not be the next top prospect for the team or be as big of a name as others, but at sixth on our list, he has a chance to really be special.