KANSAS CITY, MO – Detroit Tigers rookie sensation Kevin McGonigle stood at his locker, after yet another loss.
“Frustrating,” he said after the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers, 11-7, on Sunday, Aug. 23. “Just frustrating, that’s all.”
It was the Tigers’ fifth straight loss – their eighth in nine games – and, clearly, all the losing is eating him up.
More than anything, McGonigle hates to lose, which might be his most endearing trait.
“While he’s accomplishing a lot, he’s never satisfied,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “His team lost today, which is what he’s going to leave the ballpark with; and I cherish that kind of mindset.”
Because Hinch wants it to hurt. He doesn’t want anybody to get used to this. He wants them to despise it.
“You know, that’s what makes Kevin so special,” teammate Max Clark said. “Nothing is gonna change that guy. He just wants to win. That’s all he gives a (crap) about. None of it’s individual. None of it’s selfish. He just wants to go win. He’s killer.”
So, even though McGonigle doesn’t care about stats, allow me a moment to focus on them. To put his season in perspective. To fully appreciate what we are witnessing.
Because what he is doing is so incredibly rare.
Think about his game on Sunday. McGonigle went 2-for-4, knocked in three runs, scored another and had a walk. Oh, and he hit his 14th homer of the season, while raising his batting average to .283.
Ho hum. Just another McGonigle game.
“I’m genuinely at a loss for words watching him,” said Clark, who has never – I mean never – been at a loss for words on any topic.
McGonigle has emerged as one of the best players in baseball. He went into Sunday’s game with a 5.7 bWAR (per Baseball Reference), tied with Houston’s AL Triple Crown candidate, Yordan Alvarez, for third in all of baseball, behind only the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong (7.9) and the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. (6.2).
I mean, that’s the best of the best.
“It’s unbelievable,” Clark said proving that, alas, he truly is never at a loss for words. “WAR shows that he does it in every single facet of the game. They underrated his defense. They underrated his ability to hit for power, to hit for average, to walk. Same walk-to-K. Elite base running, like top three in baseball baserunning. So they underrated that skill too, and it’s just Kevin. He’s a top-two player in the American League right now. He’s the Rookie of the Year.”
Hanging with the big dogs
Now, check out the more traditional stats.
McGonigle leads all MLB rookies with a .383 on-base percentage. You know how many rookies have been better than that? I mean, in the last 15 years?
Only Aaron Judge (.422) in 2017, Mike Trout (.399) in 2012 and Jose Abreu (.383) in 2014.
“You look at the numbers in the minor leagues, and it’s like, man, it’s like a video game,” Clark said. “It’s like ‘MLB The Show,’ but then he gets here [in the MLB], and he does it at 21 – the most since the big dogs.”
Judge, Trout, Abreu – those are the big dogs.
All the ways McGonigle is elite
Now, let’s step back from the stats and try to figure out something else: How is he doing it?
It starts with his eyes and his brain. He has elite skills when it comes to pitch recognition – and that’s a skill that’s not gonna go away.
During a game, the players in the Tigers dugout will be looking at the scoreboard, reading the metrics and say: Oh, that breaking ball moves six inches.
Then, McGonigle will come back from his time at the plate and say: Nope, the one I just saw moved eight inches.
That’s rare. That’s an elite eye and understanding. That’s why he can square up so many balls. On Sunday alone, he crushed three balls and the exit velocity on all of them was over 100 mph.
Now, remember. He’s just 22 years old. (He had a birthday during this road trip.)
“He’s a very special player,’” Hinch said. “He’s a special person. We’re going to keep pushing him to get even better, which I know, in a lot of ways, people wonder how he can do it. But there’s are a ton of things he’s working on.”
Yes, he’s working on stuff, trying to get better, while playing nearly every day – the most games he’s ever played in his life.
He has proved not only to be a tremendous talent but he is a tough, durable workhorse.
McGonigle has played in 126 games, with only four days off all season. Obviously, there have been days when he’s been beat up or didn’t feel good. Because he’s always on base, always sliding, always diving for a ball. But he has grinded through it without anybody knowing. He has learned to take care of his body in the weight room, in the training room and in the kitchen, eating the right foods. He refuses to get mentally worn down. And he’s got a ridiculous toughness and mentality.
Yes, it’s elite toughness.
His understanding of his plan is like Alex Bregman. His ability to execute it like Chase Utley – his hero. And he understands the pitcher-batter battle better than almost anybody.
“He has a good plan,” Hinch said. “He goes up and he’s able to get the barrel to the ball a lot. He swings at the right pitches.”
Usually, at least. And even still, he has as many walks (79) as strikeouts this season.
Now, here’s the truly scary part: He’s not a finished product.
He has areas to improve. Small holes to patch. And while he is an All-Star, while he seems a lock to be the American League Rookie of the Year, while he’s putting up stats that put him in the discussion as one of the top players in the AL, (if not all of the majors), something crazy has happened.
We might be underselling how special he truly is.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Don’t let Tigers’ skid obscure how great Kevin McGonigle has been
Reporting by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
