​DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle is itching to head home for the All-Star Game in Philadelphia. “I’m super pumped,” McGonigle said Sunday before facing his hometown Phillies. At 21, he has already accumulated more travel than most players his age, though nothing compares to the white duffel bag sitting on the carpeted floor beside his chair in the Tigers’ clubhouse. The bag bore the All-Star Game logo and a bold Old English D on each end. “I’d say this is the best one I’ve ever had,” McGonigle remarked, and he had earned it.
Since the first All-Star Game in 1933, only two players have reached base safely more often than McGonigle at the break: Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout and Hall of Famer Al Kaline. The Tigers believed McGonigle would be good, but few could have foreseen the level of production he has shown so early in his career.
Detroit drafted McGonigle with the 37th pick in 2023, and he spent more than two years in the minors, skipping Triple-A Toledo on his rapid ascent as a promising prospect. After he made the major league roster during spring training and collected four hits in his debut, the franchise felt confident enough in him to sign him to a $150 million, eight-year contract. So far, that investment looks smart.
“It’s so impressive how mature he is in the box,” Tigers All-Star outfielder Riley Greene said. “You don’t see many people at 21 having at-bats as good as his.” Since 1947, he is the fifth rookie 21 or younger to record at least 99 hits before the All-Star Game.
“He’s a good-looking, young player,” said Phillies manager Don Mattingly, a former standout himself. “Young guys seem to be coming up a lot more often, and doing well right away. Seeing him in the spring, you think, ‘OK, we’ll see,’ and then obviously he has carried that into the season and continues to roll.”
McGonigle was born in Media, Pennsylvania, and attended high school in nearby Drexel Hill. Ahead of the Home Run Derby on Monday night and the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, he shared his take on the best cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia area. “Delco’s Steaks in Delaware County, where I’m from, is my favorite,” he said. “In the city, Philip’s is a sleeper. They cut the meat in a different way, and it’s really good.