The Detroit Tigers are in win-now mode. The Tigers possess the second-best record in the American League (69-52) and lead their division by 5.5 games, with a Cy Young contender headlining its starting rotation in Tarik Skubal.
But the club also has a number of top prospects chomping at the bits for an opportunity to play in the big leagues. The Tigers organization is home to four of the top 40 prospects in the league, according to MLB Pipeline — shortstop Kevin McGonigle (No. 2 overall), outfielder Max Clark (No. 9), catcher Josue Briceño (No. 32) and shortstop Bryce Rainer (No. 35).
McGonigle and Clark are the two most likely candidates for a call-up in September, the time of year most clubs give prospects a taste of the major-league experience without losing service time. The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen, however, does not believe that either player will be elevated to the Tigers' active roster at any point in 2025.
"The chance of Clark debuting this year is about zero percent. It wouldn’t be like the Tigers to make a player skip Triple A. Clark is off to a good start at Double A but needs more time. In center field, Meadows should be back shortly, Wenceel Pérez is available, Javier Báez can play there and the Tigers haven’t ruled Vierling out for the season, so there’s not a huge need," Stavenhagen wrote.
"McGonigle perhaps has a better chance than Clark to debut, but still a very low percentage. The Tigers seem to believe in Trey Sweeney. There are other infielders, such as Jace Jung and Hao-Yu Lee, in Toledo. McGonigle is an awesome prospect with a hitting profile that should translate well to the major leagues," Stavenhagen continued. "But keep in mind how badly Torkelson, Riley Greene and Keith struggled early in their careers. I don’t see the Tigers throwing a young position player into the fire like that, even if it sounds tempting."
Clark has played at two-minor league levels — High-A (with the West Michigan Whitecaps) and Double-A (Erie SeaWolves) — and put together a .283/.413/.434 slash line with nine home runs and 53 RBIs in 90 total games this year.
McGonigle, meanwhile, began the season in Single-A with the Lakeland Flying Tigers and has since joined Clark in Double-A. Across three minor-league levels, McGonigle has hit .335 with 11 home runs, 61 RBIs and a 1.028 OPS in 64 total games.