Tigers Superstar Top Prospect Now Projected to Make Opening Day Roster
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The Detroit Tigers went into spring training with one prospect under the close eye of everyone who was paying attention, and he has not disappointed to this point.
Top prospect Kevin McGonigle has come into camp and done nothing but hit, continuing his incredible hot streak from a year ago that made him one of the most tantalizing youngsters in all of baseball.
With his latest dominating showing in the exhibition game against the Dominican Republic, it's starting to become a legitimate conversation as to whether or not he could make the Opening Day roster.
One major insider in Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required) is buying the hype, placing McGonigle in the first lineup of the year at shortstop with his latest updated projections for the Opening Day roster.
Petzold Projects McGonigle to Crack Opening Day Roster
"McGonigle hasn't played above Double-A Erie, but his performance against Team Dominican Republic in the first game of the exhibition series showed why he belongs on the Opening Day roster," Petzold wrote. "McGonigle has passed every on-field test in camp. He also looks comfortable around big leaguers behind the scenes."
The more McGonigle has been exposed to tougher competition, it seems the better he has performed and there has not been a moment where he has looked overwhelmed or out of place in any way.
Detroit wants to win and they want to win now, and it is starting to become apparent that the 21-year-old gives them their best chance to do exactly that. If the organization is willing to get a little bit unconventional for their best hitting prospect in decades and bring him along faster, it's getting to the point where he is leaving no doubt.
McGonigle Still Has to Keep Showing a Ton for Tigers
While the results to this point have been extremely encouraging, McGonigle needs to keep on proving it game in and game out and show that he's not going to struggle in a huge way if they do make the call to throw him out there.
Right now, he's seeing it like a beach ball and is hitting everything that comes his way, and until that changes, it looks like he may not leave Detroit brass much of a choice but to make him their Opening Day shortstop.
If McGonigle can keep doing what he's been doing and avoid any kind of major slump in the next two weeks, the impossible is going to become possible and he is going to have a tremendous chance to be helping out the Tigers right from the first game.
Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.