Tigers Rising Star Kevin McGonigle’s Terrific Season Explained in One Statistic

The Detroit Tigers have one of the best prospects in baseball and this one statistic explains why he could play in the Majors in 2026.

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

There is a path for Detroit Tigers top prospects Kevin McGonigle to reach the Majors in 2026, even though he’s never played above Double-A Erie.

The Tigers have leaned into young prospects of late, as they tendered Colt Keith a long-term deal before he even played a Major League game before he made his debut in 2024. Detroit also gave Jace Jung a chance to make his MLB debut late in 2024 during a division title race.

Keith has installed himself as an opening-day starter for 2026. Jung may have some work ahead to get back on the 26-man roster to start the season. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has talked openly this offseason about how McGonigle could fit into Detroit’s Major League plans next season.

Why? Well, he is MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect. But there’s one number above all others he produced in 2025 that explains why the Tigers are keenly interested in having him in the Majors next season.

Kevin McGonigle’s Big Number

Big Fall League performances by Tigers No. 1 and No. 9 prospects Kevin McGonigle and Max Anderson have them on AJ Hinch’s radar heading into Spring Training pic.twitter.com/6wXp2kSSHh

— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) December 22, 2025

MLB.com recently highlighted the best prospect statistic from each organization. For the Tigers, picking a stat for McGonigle was easy. Picking which stat was more difficult. But the site selected his 182 wRC+, which stands for weighted runs created plus, which is an analytic that measures a player’s overall offensive production. A 100 wRC+ is considered the Major League average.

McGonigle’s 182 wRC+ was best among 1,079 Minor Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances in 2025. He did that in the Midwest and Eastern Leagues, which are considered two of the more difficult offensive leagues in the minors.

Last season was McGonigle’s second full minor league season after he was taken in the competitive balance first round (No. 37 overall) of the 2023 MLB draft out of Monsignor Bonner in Drexel Hill, Penn. He played in just 88 games in 2025 due to a sprained ankle, but he produced. He slashed .305/.408/.583 with 19 home runs and 80 RBI. The power was a huge leap over his 2024 (five home runs and 44 RBI), but he slashed .309/.401/.452 that campaign.

Detroit sent McGonigle to the Arizona Fall League and he was named the AFL’s Most Valuable Player. 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.

He’s all but certain to be a non-roster invite to Major League spring training for the second straight year. This time, he has a real shot to make the opening-day roster, especially if he produces a wRC+ in the spring as he did last season.