DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle can’t wait to go home for the All-Star Game in Philadelphia.“I’m super pumped,” McGonigle said Sunday before facing his hometown Phillies.Even though McGonigle is just 21, he has had a lot of travel bags for baseball.None, though, was like the white one sitting on the carpeted floor next to his chair in the Tigers’ clubhouse. The duffel bag was adorned with the All-Star Game logo and there was an Old English D on each end.“I’d say this is the best one I’ve ever had,” McGonigle said.He earned it.Since the first All-Star Game in 1933, Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout and Hall of Famer Al Kaline are the two players who have reached base safely more often than McGonigle at the break.The Tigers thought McGonigle would be good, but no one could have projected this much production so early in his career.Detroit drafted McGonigle with the No. 37 pick in 2023 and he spent two-plus years in the minor leagues, skipping a stop at Triple-A Toledo, as a promising prospect.
Shortly after McGonigle made the major league roster during spring training and had four hits in his debut, the franchise saw enough to give him a $150 million, eight-year contract.So far, it certainly looks like a wise investment.
