Three Detroit Tigers Players Who Helped Themselves Most in Spring Training
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Spring training isn't just a time for players to knock rust off, but an opportunity for others to prove to management they are ready to impact the team in a positive light for the upcoming season. That is exactly what a trio of Detroit Tigers players has done in the last few weeks.
There are a pair of prospects that have taken full advantage of their invites to training, and both suit up in the infield: Kevin McGonigle and John Peck. While outfielder Matt Vierling has already established himself inside the majors, he is trying to find his game again after fighting injuries most of 2025.
Kevin McGonigle
McGonigle has easily been the top prospect inside Detroit's organization, and he might have made his case to skip Triple-A and step into the Majors for a couple of reasons: his performance this year and Trey Sweeney's injury.
It isn't just the fact that he is batting .250 with an OPS over .920, but also last year's primary shortstop (Sweeney) and his limitations from a shoulder strain. The door has been left wide open for McGonigle with his inevitable debut rapidly approaching.
John Peck
Swapping gears from one of the most well-known prospects in the game to John Peck. Peck is able to play anywhere in the infield (except first), which makes his path to the Majors a little easier than others who aren't quite as versatile.
John Peck smokes an RBI single back up the middle at 106 MPH. pic.twitter.com/Yy5Zm639Jr
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) March 14, 2026
The now 23-year-old worked his way up to Double-A last year where he hit .274, and if he doesn't start 2026 in Triple-A after how well he has done this year for Detroit, it will be the wrong decision by the organization.
Peck is taking full advantage of his invite as he has a more than impressive slash line of .333/.379/.630, which brings his OPS over 1.000 in the 18 games that he has played.
Matt Vierling
This roster is begging for depth anywhere they can get it, and if Vierling can stay healthy, he is the answer, at least in the outfield. He missed significant time in 2025 (only played 31 games) as he battled a rotator cuff strain at the beginning of the season, and then an oblique strain.
But, he sure looks healthy now.
Vierling has played in 16 games with nearly 50 at-bats, where he has hit over .300 with an OPS of .920 with a pair of homers while leading the team in runners brought home as the lone Tiger in the double-digits for RBI.
The Tigers didn't sign a bat this offseason, but they are still ready to take back the division as their team is highlighted by arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now — Tarik Skubal. Without adding a bat, that means they will be looking at players within the organization to step up to the plate, and these three have done nothing but impress this spring.
Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.