Detroit Tigers General Manager Jeff Greenberg announced on Wednesday, Aug. 20 that top prospect Kevin McGonigle is not on the radar as a potential September call-up to the majors during roster expansion in the final month of the season.
That’s not to say the movie is impossible, but Greenberg’s lack of commitment the move in mid-August is a telling sign that McGonigle will more than likely not end up in Detroit this season. McGonigle was picked 37th overall by the Tigers in the 2023 draft and has rocketed through the system in the last three seasons, exceeding expectations at each level.
Between his three teams this season, McGonigle is putting up impressive numbers. He’s currently in AA with the Erie Seawolves, where he has seven home runs in 29 games played while sporting a very solid .950 OPS. Overall he has an OPS over 1.000 while batting .325 with 14 home runs and 66 RBI.
At just 21 years old, there isn’t much pressure for the Tigers to rush the shortstop up to the Major League level, considering their infield is one of the deepest in the league. Despite some inconsistency, Javier Baez has been solid at SS this season, while the rest of the infield is in good shape with Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith and Gleyber Torres rounding out a very sure-handed unit.
McGonigle Part of Standout Trio
Kevin McGonigle is part of a trio of highly ranked prospects in the Tigers system along with Max Clark and Josue Briceño. The three were promoted from high-A to AA at the same time and have each risen through the ranks as a unit. In the same interview where Greenberg announced that he wasn’t planning to call McGonigle up this season, he made the same claim for the other two members of the Tigers big three in the system.
Clark was also a member of the 2023 draft class with McGonigle when he was picked No. 3 overall. With the highest ceiling of any prospect in the Tigers system, Clark has put up very similar numbers to McGonigle, despite being just 20 years old. He’s batting .282 with 12 home runs and 59 RBI this season, with an OPS of .867.
Briceño, a catcher, has put up power numbers with 19 home runs this season. At 6’4, 200 lbs. he has the potential to be a big part of the Tigers future.
Tigers Have No. 6 Farm System
After being ranked as the No. 1 farm system at the beginning of the 2025 season, the Tigers dropped to No. 6 at the MLB’s midseason ranking. A big reason for the drop was the promotion of top prospect Jackson Jobe up to the MLB level, but they’ve also dealt with injuries to a few pitchers at lower levels.
The Tigers have four of the MLB’s top 100 prospects: McGonigle at No. 2, Clark at No. 9, Briceño at No. 32 and Bryce Rainer at No. 35. McGonigle and Rainer are both shortstops, meaning one of them could make for great trade bait in the coming seasons.
With a legitimate World Series contending team at the MLB level and a top farm system, the Tigers are set up for the present and for the future.
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