Detroit — Kevin McGonigle had never before in his young professional career gone deep into the hole at shortstop and made a Derek Jeter-type backhand play complete with a jump throw to first.
He’s made two of them this season.
He’d never before picked a ball behind the bag at third, ala Brooks Robinson, and threw a dart all the way across the diamond to nab a runner. He’s done that already, too.
He’d never been mentioned in the same sentence as Joe DiMaggio, either. But that happened after his first month when he had 30 hits, 10 doubles and just 14 strikeouts. No 21-year-old player had done that since DiMaggio in 1936.
Here’s something else he’s never done before: He’s never played 45 baseball games in 53 days. That’s where he was entering the day Monday.
“That’s the difference the major leagues and the minor leagues,” manager AJ Hinch said. “The schedule is relentless here.”
In the minor leagues, teams play six days a week and young prospects like McGonigle typically get another day off during the week. He also had one mandated designated-hitter day each week.
There’s been none of that since he debuted March 26.
“It’s been better than I thought it would be,” McGonigle said last week. “I think I am getting used to it a little bit. I am finding different ways to keep my body ready to go every day.”
There has been no outward signs of fatigue, mental or physical. His offensive production has slowed down, but that was predictable after his torrid, American League Rookie of the Month start (.328/.426/.509 with a .935 OPS).
Maintaining that pace was improbable. In 14 games in May, he’s hitting .208/.323/.226 wit a .549 OPS. But he’s stolen five bases and he’s walked eight times, with just eight strikeouts. Defensively, since Javier Báez sprained his ankle, he’s anchored the shortstop position admirably (plus-2 defensive runs saved).
Still, the Tigers, the coaching staff and training staff, are watching him closely.
“We don’t want to give him another day off but we’re going to,” said Hinch, who said he would likely sit McGonigle against one of the two lefty starters the Guardians are using in this series. “Just for sheer volume control.”
McGonigle admits the grind has been the toughest aspect of big-league life.
“Just getting my body healthy and staying out there every day,” he said. “It’s the most I’ve ever played. So I’m finding little things I can do in the training room to keep my body healthy so I can go out there each and every day.”
He’s leaned on Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith, Zach McKinstry and others to help him build his routines.
“He preparedness is very consistent,” Hinch said. “Everything from the timing of when he does his work. I know he’s learned a lot from the guys on how to endure the physical demands of playing at the Major League level.”
The problem is, Hinch said, there is no way to train for this type of marathon.
“They literally can’t play seven days in a row in the minor leagues,” Hinch said. “Part of this learning curve has to happen in the big leagues. There are routines that have to be adjusted and we are paying attention to everything we can.”
That includes monitoring his at-bats and bat speed, monitoring his diet, his weight, his sleep, his weight lifting and other training programs.
“You resist the instinct by us older people that want to say, ‘Oh, he’s 21, he can handle this,’” Hinch said. “It’s a big adjustment, even though he’s making it look easy. It’s something we monitor and pay attention to so he can run the whole race.
“He’s very gifted in his ability to plan a program and put it into gear.”
Hinch said he is as impressed by how McGonigle has handled the off-the-field demands as he is the physical demands on the field.
“Just the overall maturity to handle everything that’s been thrown at him,” Hinch said. “He’s never talked to (the media) like he is now. He’s never had this kind of attention off the field. There is so much coming at him, and he’s ready to play every day. The results on the field are obviously easy to love. We all love the performance.
“But the way he goes about his business is very rewarding. I want to lookout for him and protect him and he doesn’t need a ton of that. He just needs the opportunity to play and he’s ready to play every day.”
Tigers vs. Guardians
First pitch: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, Comerica Park, Detroit
TV/radio: Detroit Sports Net/97.1, 107.9 FM
Scouting report
LHP Parker Messick (5-1, 2.35), Guardians: His four-seam fastball and sinker have a plus-9 run value, per Statcast. He throws it at a steep over the top angle at between 92 and 94 mph and it gets on hitters. He will throw changeups (46% whiff), curveballs and cutters to right-handed hitters, mostly sliders and four-seamers to lefties. He has a 28% strikeout rate, a 34.9% chase rate and a low 31% hard-hit rate.
RHP Keider Montero (2-3, 3.65), Tigers: Strange fact. The Guardians have yet to score a run off Montero. He didn’t face them last year, somehow. And in 2024, he made one start (shutting them out over 6.1 innings) and threw three scoreless innings against them in the postseason that year. The home run ball bit him against the Mets at Citi Field in his last start. He gave up two in 4.2 innings.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle learning on fly how to cope with big-league grind
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
