Kevin McGonigle is an elite prospect, and his bat is a big reason why. The 21-year-old shortstop/third baseman played at three levels in the Detroit Tigers organization – highlighted by Double-A – and hit .305/.408/.583 with 19 home runs and 182 wRC+ over 397 plate appearances in 2025. The board alone behind Connor Griffin And Jesus madeMcGonigle is described by Eric Longenhagen as having “real juice in his hands” and a swing “ready for takeoff.” Built for bashing baseballs, McGonigle’s left-handed swing is both compact and deadly.
Currently with the Arizona Fall League’s Scottsdale Scorpions — he’s mostly in the desert working on his defense — McGonigle has a bright future regardless of where he ends up in the infield. Longenhagen believes his best fit could be second base. But then again, there’s juice in his hands. The bat is McGonigle’s carrying tool and promises to carry him a long way.
McGonigle sat down to talk hitting before a recent game at Scottsdale Stadium.
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David Laurila: How have you evolved as a hitter? For example, if I were to watch the video from the moment you signed and compare it now, would I see the same man?
Kevin McGonigle: “You’d see the same swing. Obviously, I’m a little bigger now, but the swing hasn’t changed. It’s been the same since I was 10 years old, to be honest. That’s the way my body naturally wants to move, and the best way I can explode on a baseball, so I’m trying to keep doing the same thing I’ve done since I was younger.”
Laurila: How does your body move naturally?
McGonigle: “I have the toe tap and I’m in my legs more than a lot of guys at the plate. I pretty much see the ball, hit the ball and try to…not make the same swing. I feel like you’re going to have a different swing on every pitch. But I try to keep the same toe tap, everything the same.”
Laurila: While you continue to do what comes naturally, you also have talented hitting instructors to work with. How do you balance that?
McGonigle: “What I like about the Tigers is that they’re not really hands-on unless you have questions. I go to them for little bits, like routines or drills that I want to do. A big thing for me was bat speed, so they put me on a bat-speed program last offseason. That’s really helped me this year with power. Bat-to-ball, of course. Gap-to-gap power. I rely on them – the Tigers and all coordinators – because they are there to help you get better every day.”
Laurila: What is your approach when it comes to where you want to hit the ball?
McGonigle: “It depends on who’s on the mound. If there’s a good lefty, I think of a hole in left-center and then just react to his speed and pull it. Same with righties. If it’s a guy who throws really hard, like the ’90s, I might think right-center. That’s the furthest I’ll go with a heater. Then, changeup, curveball — whatever secondary he throws — pull him along the line. Top hook him in the corner is what I like to think.
“When I’m playing, I usually hit the balls hard into the hole in right field or down the right field line. That’s even if the pitches are spread out. I can still get under them and pull them. However, there comes a time and place where I want the ball to travel. With two strikes, I try to use all parts of the field.”
“I also always sit on fastballs and react from there to offspeed. I actually don’t like to sit on other pitches. If it’s a lefty who only spams sweepers, I sit as a sweeper, but that’s about it. For me it’s all about reaction.”
Laurila: My impression is that you fall into the KISS category – Keep It Simple, Stupid – and still think about hitting quite a bit. Is that accurate?
McGonigle: “Absolutely. I mean, if I hit the ball hard and it goes straight at someone, there’s nothing you can do about it. So my main thing is to just find the barrel. That’s it. If you find the barrel, it’s a win. If you don’t, get it next time.”
Laurila: Coming from amateur ball and different levels of pro ball, you’re basically the same guy, but with more reps under your belt…
McGonigle: “Yeah, I just see more pitching. In high school I didn’t really see 95 [mph] really not at all. Once I got a feel for that, I had to get used to guys having better offspeed. They love to throw it in the leverage counts, and that’s something I really had to work on this year. Last year I got a lot of fastballs to hit, and this year they’re flipping 3-0 sliders, 3-1 sliders, changeups in 0-0 counts.
“Finishing my hack at 0-0 counts if I hit an off-speed that’s mid-mid, or it’s an off-speed get-me-over… if I swing and miss, what then? I’m down 0-1. But if I get a barrel on it, then it’s a win. I’m more aggressive now than I was last year.”
“If he’s a fastball change-up guy who throws a lot of changeups, I’ll still be sitting fastball. A lot of times I’m going to look up. The changeup will start there, then have a little low point and go to the heart of the plate. I’m kind of digging a tunnel where I want the pitch to start.”
Laurila: Has bat-speed training helped you respond better to heaters when you expected something too fast?
McGonigle: “Yeah. I would say there were a few times this year where I was offspeed, a guy threw a heater up the middle, and I could still hit hard to left field. Having a faster bat has definitely helped. I’m able to protect on a two-strike basis. If I get beat with a fastball, I can at least get a bat on it and make a mistake with it, give myself life to hopefully to win those two tricks. “
Laurila: How important are strikeouts? That was something Riley Greene struggled this year even though they got good grades.
McGonigle: “It’s not a great feeling. I mean, Riley Greene is a great baseball player. I’m looking forward to hopefully sharing a field with him one day. He wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t for the way he plays baseball and the way he hits. Strikeouts aren’t the best in the world, but he also performed in all different aspects of the game. The whole strikeout thing… I think it’s a big deal, but not as big as everyone thinks. is.”
Laurila: What do the Tigers want you to work on this upcoming offseason, outside of defense?
McGonigle: “We have exit meetings with our hitting coordinators – mine will be after that [the AFL] – and off the top of my head I don’t know exactly. But the curveball is a pitch I struggled with this year. I was either under it or on top of it.”
Laurila: Why was that?
McGonigle: “Some of it was timing, but some of it was swinging at the wrong curveballs. If it’s low, that’s where the pitcher wants it, and the high ones would fool me. A pitcher would go up with a curveball, and I’d clip it back, when that’s a pitch you want to hammer. I’m so used to training him in the zone, where pitchers usually want to get him, but now some guys are trying to get him on top.” I have to work on that, when you reach top speed.
Laurila: Any final thoughts on hitting?
McGonigle: “There’s no perfect swing. Every swing is going to be different. If it’s a low pitch, if it’s a high pitch, if it’s gone… but you see a lot of guys trying to chase that perfect swing. That’s hard to do when you’ve got a guy who throws 99 and he walks 20 inches, or sinks 20 inches. My thought is just, ‘Go out there and take the bat to the ball.’ Keep it that simple. Don’t try to chase the perfect swing. I want my swing to be adjustable. Simple and adjustable.”
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Previous “Talks Hitting” interviews can be found at these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Haag, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Walker Jenkins, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Shea Langeliers, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Dillon Lawson, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Paul Molitor, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Carlo Mullins, Daniel MurphyLars Nootbaar, Logan O’hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Sgese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saslor, Nolan SchanuelMarcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., James Tibbs III, Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis
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