The Tigers have a legitimate candidate for American League rookie of the year. And, in a rarity, it’s a position player. No Tigers position player has won the award since Lou Whitaker in 1977.
Kevin McGonigle, who leads the league in WAR at 2.0, is making a strong early push to end that drought.
According to the latest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, McGonigle, 21, the Tigers’ shortstop/third baseman, is the second-favorite to win the award in the AL. His odds as of early Wednesday morning were +175 (bet $100 to win $175). Those odds trailed only slugger Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, who was at +155.
Those two players, McGonigle and Murakami, are by far and away the favorites in the AL at the 30-game mark, nearly one-fifth of the way through the regular season.
McGonigle, a first-round pick out of high school in 2023, made the Tigers’ Opening Day roster, had four hits on Opening Day, and has started all but two of the team’s games. He currently is on a 12-game hitting streak, and has reached base in 25 consecutive starts, the longest such streak by a Tigers 21 years old or younger since Al Kaline reached base in 34 consecutive starts 70 years ago, from July 26-Aug. 28, 1956. McGonigle’s start to his major-league career has been among the hottest stories early in the 2026 season, especially after the Tigers signed him to an eight-year, $150-million extension just days into the season.
Murakami, 26, who signed a two-year, $34-million contract with the White Sox in December in making the move to Major League Baseball from Japan, has proven to be quite the sensation, too. He’s tied for the major-league lead in home runs with 12, with New York Yankees star and three-time Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge.
Here’s a comparison of McGonigle’s and Murakami’s stats through Tuesday night’s games:
Kevin McGonigle’s stats
- Slash: .327/.417/.518
- Doubles: 11
- Triples: 2
- Home runs: 2
- RBIs: 12
- Walks: 16
- Strikeouts: 16
- Stolen bases: 2
- WAR: 2.0
Munetaka Murakami’s stats
- Slash: .241/.366/.574
- Doubles: 0
- Triples: 0
- Home runs: 12
- RBIs: 23
- Walks: 22
- Strikeouts: 45
- Stolen bases: 0
- WAR: 0.9
Both players are even showing up on MVP odds boards, albeit as long shots. Both players, at last check via FanDuel, were listed at +6500, behind 16 players, all non-rookies.
The Tigers have had five players win rookie of the year, an award that began in 1947 and has been handed out to one player in each league since 1949, and three of their winners have been pitchers: Michael Fulmer in 2016, Justin Verlander in 2006 and Mark Fidrych in 1976. The only two Tigers position players to win the award were Whitaker in 1977 and Harvey Kuenn in 1953.
After Murakmi and McGonigle, the next-closest AL rookies, per FanDuel, are Cleveland’s Parker Messick (+900) and Chase DeLauter (+1300), Kansas City’s Carter Jensen (+1500) and Toronto’s Kazuma Okamoto (+2700).
In the National League, Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart (+155) is the favorite, then New York’s Nolan McLean (+350).
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Kevin McGonigle, Munetaka Murakami favorites for AL rookie of the year