Tigers Baseball Report

Tigers Stars Riley Greene, Zach McKinstry Win Coveted Silver Slugger Awards

The Detroit Tigers stars were recognized for their incredible seasons.
Maddy Dickens|
Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene (31) reacts after batting a foul ball against Mariners during the second inning of Game 4 of ALDS at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025
Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene (31) reacts after batting a foul ball against Mariners during the second inning of Game 4 of ALDS at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025 | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Detroit Tigers

Now that the 2025 MLB campaign is officially over, the highly-anticipated awards have started to be handed out to players who had outstanding performances during the regular season, and that meant two Detroit Tigers stars were up for the Silver Slugger Award.

While the Tigers weren't necessarily known as a slugging team this season, they still finished top 10 in longballs hit and had some players who had exceptional years swinging the bat. Detroit had two finalists for the Silver Slugger Award this year; outfielder Riley Greene and utility man Zach McKinstry.

Both Greene and McKinstry had their best seasons in a Tigers uniform, and that led to both stars taking home their first-ever Silver Slugger Awards.

Greene and McKinstry vs. Their Competition

McKinstry hitting a single in a white uniform against the Mariners in the ALD
Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Every position except the outfield had three finalists named with one taking home the honor, which included the utility category. When it came to the outfield, there were six finalists with three players winning the award.

Greene was up against Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners and George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays.

There was no doubt that Judge was going to take home a Silver Slugger Award, but the other two winners were question marks. However, Greene made a great case to be one of the three winners, which is laid out in his statistics below.

  • Total Hits (third)
  • Doubles (first)
  • Home Runs (second, trailing only Judge)
  • RBI (second, trailing only Judge)
  • Batting Average (sixth)
  • Slugging Percentage (fourth)
  • OPS (fifth)

Greene's overall performance is what earned him his first Silver Slugger Award. While his high strikeouts will be a concern moving forward, that's something the organization can work with him on as they look to maximize his potential even further.

As for McKinstry, he finished his third full season with the ballclub and it was by far his best one yet. He beat out fellow finalists Maikel Garcia from the Kansas City Royals and Ben Rice of the Yankees to take home his first-ever Silver Slugger Award .

  • 68 Runs
  • 117 Total Hits
  • 23 Doubles
  • 11 Triples
  • 12 Home Runs
  • 49 RBI
  • 2.8 WAR
  • .259 Batting Average
  • .333 On-Base Percentage
  • .438 Slugging Percentage

The Tigers have to be stoked about next season as these two are ready to explode in 2026 and keep this momentum rolling in order to lead the team back to the playoffs

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

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.

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