Tigers' Kevin McGonigle gets huge update in AL Rookie of the Year poll

While the 2026 season for the Detroit Tigers might not be going like they expected, especially with the trades of Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, there is one major positive takeaway from this year.

Kevin McGonigle, the top Tigers prospect coming into this year, has been better than advertised this season. He's a true star and has been incredible all year long.

For the American League Rookie of the Year race, MLB.com's Jason Foster shared a poll of various MLB experts that has McGonigle as the runaway favorite, with no other player remotely close to him for this end-of-season award.

Kevin McGonigle polled as runaway favorite for AL ROY award

1. Kevin McGonigle, Tigers (186 total points; 30 first-place votes)," Foster shared. "McGonigle has been the clear favorite in the AL for a while, and it's hard to argue with it because he just does a lot of things well."

With September just getting underway, McGonigle received 30 first-place votes in this poll of 40 MLB.com experts. Parker Messick received three first-place votes, Munetaka Murakami received six, and Chase DeLauter received a first-place vote as well.

But none can even remotely compare to McGonigle's 30 votes for first place. These votes indicate it's a runaway race for the Tigers' rookie, and for good reason.

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What McGonigle has done in his rookie season is nothing short of incredible. He has 6.0 bWAR on the year with 141 hits, 14 home runs, a .274 batting average, 24 doubles, 85 runs scored, three triples, 58 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and 81 walks to 82 strikeouts.

As a rookie infielder who is also providing quality defense on the left side of the field, McGonigle has a .789 OPS and a 121 OPS+.

He might not be the best offensive rookie in baseball this year, but his overall value to the Tigers is well beyond the value of any other rookie this season.

McGonigle is the runaway favorite in this poll from MLB.com, and he should be the clear frontrunner for this end-of-season award when MLB officially hands out awards after the season comes to a close.

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