How Kevin McGonigle Stands in American League Rookie of the Year Race
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It's been a rough year for the Detroit Tigers, but there is a massive silver lining to discuss. The most exciting part of the saddening season so far has been the emergence of Kevin McGonigle. His well-chronicled season has been written about at naseum by everyone with eyes, and for good reason.
McGonigle punched three more hits and two RBI on Tuesday night, which raised his batting average to .291 and his OPS to .822 in the loss. His two-RBI base knock was a first-pitch fastball which he laced down the right field line, and legged out into a triple. In nearly every facet of his offense, McGonigle has played like a superstar.
He's in the 97th percentile in the league in chase and whiff rate, while also boasting elite strikeout and walk numbers. His plate discipline has been incredible, especially for such a young rookie. Through his first 53 games and 233 plate appearances, he has an elite 1/1 strike to walk ratio.
While he's only hit three homers thus far, every other offensive stat screams Rookie of the Year candidate, especially when compared to the two players that figure to be his biggest competition — Cleveland outfielder Chase DeLauter and Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami.
Kevin McGonigle Should be Leading the American League Rookie of The Year Pack All Season Long
Although he's neck-in-neck with McGonigle at the top, it's really hard to compare Murakami to the Tigers' rookie. The two are completely different players, and elite at different things. Murakami is second in baseball with 19 homers, and top five in walks, and top 10 in RBI.
Clearly, Murakami is a power first hitter, and his batting average is another prime example of this. He owns a .236/.372/.550 slash line, and is tied for the American League lead in strikeouts. He's always been homer happy, but never only hit long balls. Murakami owned a .270 batting average through eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan before coming to America this season.
During his career-high 56-homer, 134-RBI season as a 22-year-old in 2022, he still posted a .318 batting average over 155 games. If he doesn't turn around his slash line this season, homers can only carry someone so far in the ROY rankings.
DeLauter has severely cooled off after a scorching hot start to his rookie campaign in March. He began his MLB career with four homers in his first three games, including two in his MLB debut against the Seattle Mariners. Since then, he's hit just four big flies, and only two this month.
Similar to McGonigle, DeLauter has an elite BB/K ratio. He has just 24 strikeouts, but 25 walks through 52 games this season. His plate discipline has aided his slash line to .255/.340/.436 this season, which is solid, but not likely to be ROY-worthy numbers.
With McGonigle's continued success, there's no reason why he shouldn't be atop the AL ROY odds at this point in May. He's displayed fantastic plate discipline, elite defense, and hit the ball all year long. It's still May, but it sure looks as though McGonigle could run away with the ROY award this season.
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Jeffrey is a sports writer located in Louisville, Kentucky, with a passion for sports, writing, and storytelling. He has hundreds of published articles across various platforms, including Kentucky Today, The Baptist Courier, FanSided, and more. Jeffrey is a senior at Indiana University Southeast pursuing a B.S. in Journalism/Media with a Minor in Writing. He has a beautiful wife, dog, and firstborn child on the way.