Tigers fans are making real push for once-hated utility man to get first All-Star nod

Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize have gotten a lot of kudos so far this season for finally starting to live up to their first-round pick potential, but one of the more underrated miracles of the Tigers' season has been the ascendence of utility man Zach McKinstry.

Going into this season, McKinstry had a career .220 average and .643 OPS with the Dodgers, Cubs, and Tigers. In 61 games this year, he's batting .276 with a .799 OPS, and he's tied with the Red Sox's Jarren Duran to lead the American League in triples after hitting TWO on Tuesday against the Orioles.

There was a time not long ago that fans were calling for the Tigers to dump McKinstry in a hurry, as his defensive versatility wasn't enough to make up for his consistently weak bat. However, the Tigers stuck by him (GM Jeff Greenberg even went as far as to call him their "most indispensable under-the-radar player" last season), and they're reaping the rewards for their patience this year.

After McKinstry's two-triple game, fans did something that's previously seemed impossible: they actually started calling for McKinstry to get an All-Star nod. It wouldn't necessarily be a reach for 2025 McKinstry, but if you told Tigers fans in 2024 they'd be rallying around this particular cause, they'd probably laugh in your face.

Zach McKinstry is getting some serious All-Star buzz after two-triple game for Tigers

The Tigers have at least three very realistic All-Star starters on the squad. Tarik Skubal should get the start for the American League this year (if he gets passed over again, fans might riot), and Riley Greene and Gleyber Torres are two of the best at their respective positions. Torkelson and Dillon Dingler should also be serious considerations.

McKinstry is qualified as a candidate at third base, and unfortunately he does have some heavy competition in that category. Jose Ramírez seems likeliest to take it for the seventh time in his career (fourth consecutive year), but Red Sox fans could spoil the vote and get Alex Bregman to his third career All-Star Game even though he's nursing a quad injury at the moment.

But McKinstry could still make it to Atlanta based on the players' and Commissioner's Office decisions. The fact that he very nearly leads all of baseball in triples is a nice point in his favor. Even if he doesn't get the nod, the fact that Tigers fans are actually pulling for it is a huge win for him.