Tigers fans will question ex-MLB GM's key 'under-the-radar' player

Zach McKinstry's small spark of greatness was never going to last long. With almost five full seasons of major league experience under his belt, McKinstry's 2024 August was his best month ever, and by a lot. He batted .368 with a homer, seven RBI, and seven stolen bases, and for a second he was actually making the bottom of the Tigers' order look intimidating.

But there's little love lost for McKinstry among Tigers fans. Although his hot August was great for the team and begrudging apologies were extended, his downturn felt inevitable and would not be surprising to fans when it happened.

As soon as the calendar flipped over to September, that downturn took almost no time at all. He's batting .185 over his last 12 games, so it won't be long until renewed calls to dump him in the offseason in favor of a better bench utility option start up again.

McKinstry is clearly an organizational favorite, for some reason, and he garnered praise from ex-GM Jim Bowden and Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg in a new column for The Athletic about the "most indispensable 'under-the-radar' players" (subscription required). We can probably kiss goodbye any hope of Detroit dumping McKinstry when the season wraps up if this narrative continues.

Zach McKinstry named Tigers' "most indispensable under-the-radar player" by Jim Bowden and Detroit GM Jeff Greenberg

Both Bowden and Greenberg highlighted McKinstry's all-around versatility in their praise of him, emphasizing the fact that he's jumped all over the diamond this season, playing almost every position except catcher and first base. McKinstry is a good defensive player, with a +4 OAA that puts him in the 88th percentile of qualified players. While we don't want to undersell the importance of good defense, McKinstry has a bad case of Javy Báez Syndrome: good defense will almost always be overlooked if the bat isn't working (at all) in tandem.

And, apart from this August and the occasional odd hot stretch, McKinstry's bat has never been consistent enough for fans. He's even doing worse at the plate this year than last, with his batting average down nine points and OBP down 18 through Tuesday's game. He's also hitting .213 on the season with runners in scoring position.

The Tigers' long-term picture should be clarifying itself a lot more now with all of the prospect call-ups they've made this season. Trey Sweeney could take over full time at shortstop, Jace Jung could do the same at third, and the outfield has Parker Meadows, Riley Greene, and some combination of Matt Vierling and Kerry Carpenter, all of whom are far more valuable to the Tigers at the plate than McKinstry.

So we wouldn't call McKinstry indispensable. In fact, he very well could be the most dispensable Tiger on the roster.