Zach McKinstry's Gold Glove nod is a reminder it won't be so easy for Tigers to dump him

Zach McKinstry has now spent four full seasons as a Detroit Tiger, posting a slash line of .229/.303/.360. As a result, it has become a discussion whether or not McKinstry's bat is worth keeping on the team, especially given the $5 million estimate that would come with him to avoid arbitration.

While true that the Tigers have ample ways to replace McKinstry, including on the free agent market, there's something to be said about his quiet, stable presence night after night that suggests he's deserving of one final chance while the pieces of the new core continue developing. On Thursday, Rawlings announced him as an American League finalist for a Gold Glove Award as a utility player. Hopefully, McKinstry pulls out with the award, as it is very much deserved.

Gold Glove defense

If a nomination for Gold Glove in 2026 as a utility man is not enough for you, he won a Silver Slugger being a flex guy in 2025. Despite offensive struggles this season, McKinstry posted an incredible 13 Defensive Runs Saved in right field alone in 2026 (15 total), including a ridiculous 9 outfield assists despite not consistently playing the position until Kerry Carpenter's injury in late July. Per StatCast, this gave him an elite 8 Outs Above Average.

The most impressive part of his outfield game has to be his cannon for an arm. His average throw from right field was 89.9 mph, meaning that he was consistently reaching top speeds in the mid-90s. While the Tigers certainly had known McKinstry's ability to play the outfield, they may have stumbled into a position he could regularly play late in games and see an occasional start at, while mixing into the infield to give days off. Ideally, this would come with a role reduction, but that would ironically make him even more important to the team, because the situations he'd be in are the ones he'd be getting paid for.

"Detroit" baseballer

There's certain brand of player that feels like a "Tiger" even if he's not a superstar or even an everyday player. Many fans felt this way about current Pirates' manager Don Kelly, who had heroic moments in the ALCS against New York in 2012, but was never a good bat.

McKinstry carries this same aura, primarily with his excellent baserunning: despite a down year in 2026, from 2023-2025 he posted either 3 or 4 baserunning runs above average, and has led the team in stolen bases twice. McKinstry is also one to work an at bat and stress a pitcher out: his 3.98 career pitches per PA is firmly above-average for his career, and he typically walks at an above-average rate as well.

But there's also a scrappy element to his offensive profile that perfectly matched the 2024 "Gritty Tigs" run that will live in our hearts. Particularly, McKinstry has an affinity for trading bat speed in favor of hitting the ball at a launch angle that is conducive to higher batting averages. His 27.5% career line drive rate and a launch angle sweet spot percentage that has never been below 37% since arriving in Detroit are suggestive that perhaps there was some bad luck that played into his struggles this year.

The biggest difference between McKinstry in 2025 and 2026 offensively was a stark drop off in pulled fly balls. His 19.4% rate in 2025 became a 15% rate in 2026, probably due to lingering pain from a suspected oblique tear he suffered in April 2026. Considering his poor performance is also suspicious due to an uncharacteristically low BABiP of .233 (versus a career norm of .274) and it's reasonable to assume he should be better in 2027.

McKinstry will not single-handedly save this team, but he is the perfect example of a useful utility guy that's easy to support and like as a fan. Even if it's as a placeholder for Tigers' #1 prospect Zyhir Hope, or even as a late-game replacement for defensively challenged Carpenter, there are not many better options to cover right field defensively.

If you must have a player with offensive limitations but many diverse baseball skills, there are so few better choices on the market than our very own Zach McKinstry.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow