Another Way of Looking at Tigers Prospect Kevin McGonigle’s Dominant 2025

Amid all the hype surrounding Detroit Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle, he absolutely lived up to it in 2025.

Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle during the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game at Sloan Park. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In some ways, Kevin McGonigle is ready for his Detroit Tigers close-up.

He’s the system’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline. He’s the No. 2 prospect in baseball per the same site. The 21-year-old was Detroit’s first-round pick in 2023 and his rise through the minor leagues has caught the attention of Tigers fans. There is hope — part of which has been reinforced by the organization — that McGonigle can be a part of the Major League roster in 2026.

Where McGonigle fits on opening day will be determined in spring training. He hasn’t played higher than Double-A Erie. But what he did at Erie in 2025 is the biggest reason why the Tigers and the fan base are excited for him to make his MLB debut in 2026.

Kevin McGonigle’s Award-Winning 2025

Kevin McGonigle went off this year for the Detroit Tigers organization. He was named MID Player of the Week, MID Player of the Month in June, named to the MiLB Awards All-MiLB Prospect First Team, a Baseball America Minor League All-Star, MID Prospect of the Year, AFL Player of… pic.twitter.com/vbgfcg6eS1

— Milb Central (@milb_central) December 30, 2025

It’s hard to believe that McGonigle missed time early in the season due to an injury in the opener. A sprained ankle limited him to 88 games, but he produced. He slashed .305/.408/.583 with 19 home runs and 80 RBI.

Then, he went to the Arizona Fall League to get additional at-bats due to the injury. He lit up the AFL. He slashed .362/.500/.710 in 19 games. He also led the AFL with 12 extra-base hits and 49 total bases. He ranked second runs scored with 22 and five home runs, while he was third in slugging percentage at 1.210.

All of that combined to help McGonigle win just about every minor league award one could win in 2025, something that MiLB Central on X (formerly Twitter) compiled recently.

He was named a Midwest League player of the week, player of the month and the prospect of the year. He was named to the All-MiLB Prospect First Team and a Baseball America Minor League All-Star. He won the AFL player of the week award twice, was named an AFL rising star and was named the AFL’s most valuable player. That’s a lot of hardware for one player.

There was another way to measure his performance in 2025, per MLB.com. He had a 182 wRC+, which stands for weighted runs created plus, which is an analytic that measures a player’s overall offensive production. It was the highest wRC+ among 1,079 Minor Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances.

McGonigle is going to get a non-roster invitation to spring training for the second straight year. This time, the rising star has the chance to join the Tigers on their opening regular-season series, which wasn’t a possibility last spring.