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Should Detroit Tigers call up MLB’s No. 2 prospect Kevin McGonigle?
On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold invites Chris Brown of “Tigers Minor League Report” to debate when the Tigers should call up their No. 1 prospect.
For the 21st time, the Detroit Tigers hosted “CMU Night” at Comerica Park in a tradition that connects alumni, students, family, faculty and staff from Central Michigan University.
The celebration landed on Friday, Aug. 22, for the Tigers’ opener of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, with a Chippewa connection on the field: CMU alumnus Zach McKinstry in the Tigers’ lineup, playing shortstop and batting eighth.
He put on a show for his fans.
He also showed the DNA of the gritty Tigers.
“It was an exciting night,” McKinstry said after the Tigers’ 7-5 win in Friday’s game. “I’m thankful to go out there and be able to show up for the party on ‘CMU Night.’ It was pretty cool.”
McKinstry — selected in the 33rd round by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Central Michigan in the 2016 draft — stepped to the plate in the third inning with the tune of the “CMU Fight Song” blaring over the sound system at Comerica Park.
The 30-year-old requested the CMU-themed walk-up song for his first and last trips to the plate in Friday’s game, with his regular walk-up song in between.
“Just letting the people know that I’m a Chippewa,” McKinstry said.
In the third, McKinstry — who never hit a home run in two seasons with the Chippewas — sparked the Tigers’ comeback with a solo home run. Not only did McKinstry’s swing provide the Tigers’ first hit of the game, but it also provided an immediate response to the Royals scoring three runs.
That was just the beginning of McKinstry’s special game.
“When is the next one we can celebrate?” manager A.J. Hinch said after Friday’s win, suggesting an Arizona State night for Spencer Torkelson. “That was a great night for our team, especially Z-Mac.”
The biggest impact from McKinstry came in the seventh inning, using his legs on the bases for a 4-3 lead.
McKinstry fired up the action with a leadoff single, followed by Javier Báez shooting a single into right field. On Báez’s hit, McKinstry turned on the jets in pursuit of going from first to third base, but when right fielder Randal Grichuk’s throw skipped past the third baseman and toward the Tigers’ dugout, McKinstry didn’t hesitate.
Third base coach Joey Cora wanted him to stay at third base, but McKinstry refused to listen. He kept running, diving head-first into home for the go-ahead run.
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“I trusted my gut,” McKinstry said. “The pitcher really wasn’t close to the ball, and it was trickling away from him down the line, so I thought I had a good chance of getting in there.”
The fearless baserunning is part of what makes McKinstry invaluable to the Tigers.
It’s also what defines the Tigers.
“I think it’s what we’re about,” Hinch said. “It shouldn’t surprise anyone, but it should impress everyone. We continue to push the aggressiveness. He was going from the get-go. The other unnoticed thing is Javy trailing him the entire way and getting to third, creating an unbelievable opportunity for Andy (Ibáñez). That was a proud moment for us and for our team. It’s not just in his DNA. I think it’s in this team’s DNA.”
McKinstry is hitting .265 with 39 extra-base hits — 18 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home runs — in 116 games in the 2025 season, stealing 19 bases in 22 attempts. He made the All-Star Game for the first time in his six-year MLB career. His 2.8 fWAR ranks second among Tigers position players, ahead of Riley Greene (2.7) and trailing only Dillon Dingler (3.3).
It’s been a career-best season.
During Friday’s game, McKinstry went 3-for-4 with a home run off right-hander Ryan Bergert in the third inning, a triple off Bergert in the fifth inning and a single off left-handed reliever Bailey Falter in the seventh inning.
He finished a double shy of the cycle.
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McKinstry had an opportunity to complete the cycle against Falter in the eighth, leading off the inning. He could’ve become the first Tiger to hit for the cycle since Carlos Guillén in 2006 and the second Tiger to do it at Comerica Park (after Damion Easley in 2001).
He tried to hit a double.
Instead, he flew out to center field.
“I swung a little too hard on that one,” McKinstry said.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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