Tigers acknowledge John Peck still has a lot of work to do with late AFL decision

John Peck was the last of the Tigers' many rookie position players to make his major league debut in 2026. He came up on August 31 as an unofficial September call-up (Riley Greene coming off the IL was the official move) and appeared as a defensive replacement for Kevin McGonigle at shortstop.

He had to wait a couple of days to get his first hit, but it didn't disappoint: a one-out, two-run double against the Twins in his first at-bat of the day. The rest of his debut effort was quieter, and he ended the year with a .162 average and .451 OPS in 24 games, along with some not-so-pretty defensive gaffes at short.

The Tigers seem content to keep letting McGonigle jump back and forth between shortstop and third, but Peck will need to prove that he has what it takes to be in starting lineups, playing whichever position McGonigle isn't starting in.

He showed off some decent power in Double-A this year, with 20 extra-base hits, 10 homers, and a .511 slugging percentage, but the Tigers will want to see if he can translate that to the major league level.

So they're sending him to the Arizona Fall League alongside top prospects Zyhir Hope and Bryce Rainer.

Tigers send John Peck to Arizona Fall League after major league cup of coffee

The AFL is widely considered a finishing school for top prospects. Both McGonigle and Max Anderson competed in play last year, and McGonigle came out of it as MVP, going back-to-back with No. 4 Tigers prospect Josue Briceño, who also won the league's first Triple Crown in 2024.

This is a bit of a step backward for Peck, but it makes sense. He was promoted to Triple-A in late June, but he was placed on the IL two days later and only made it back in late August. He only had six games in Toledo under his belt when the Tigers brought him up to the majors.

It's as close to letting a guy skip Triple-A as the Tigers get (unless your name is Kevin McGonigle), and there was some confusion around the roster move and why the Tigers were continuing to ignore Anderson.

But perhaps they have bigger things in store for Anderson, while Peck still needs to prove that he shouldn't start his 2027 season in the minors. Winning a third consecutive AFL MVP for the organization wouldn't hurt one bit.

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