The Detroit Tigers have made the playoffs the last two seasons, but they are on the verge of missing them this year. Detroit is currently in fourth place in the American League Central with a 67-79 record. With the Tigers on the outside looking in, many are wondering what the future is going to look like for this franchise.

The Tigers’ best player on the roster was starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, but Detroit traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the MLB trade deadline for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith. With Skubal no longer in Detroit, who is the best player on the roster? Is it Kevin McGonigle, Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler, Riley Greene, or someone else?

ESPN Lists Kevin McGonigle as Detroit’s Only Elite Player

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN wrote about the 2026 MLB core rankings. He ranked the Tigers 13th, and he listed shortstop Kevin McGonigle as the only elite player on Detroit’s roster. Dillon Dingler and Riley Greene landed in the tier below as plus players, with Max Clark, Framber Valdez, Troy Melton and Jackson Jobe among those graded as solid.

McDaniel wrote:

“The top four players are all young, core-type talents in the lineup and there’s probably a few more who will emerge in the next year or so from the group beneath them. Unfortunately for an organization that made the playoffs the past two years fueled by a back-to-back Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal, that isn’t this team right now.

There are six to eight really good components of a long-term winning team and the rest of that hypothetical team could be come from some positive developments from the names just below them: Valdez’s stuff comes back a bit, Melton posts a full season in the rotation, Hope and Ryan show up in the big leagues and Jobe is healthy. Maybe that’s wish-casting, but that isn’t too far-fetched to imagine it all clicking next season.”

Kevin McGonigle’s Rookie Season Backs It Up

McGonigle is only 22 years old and is playing his first major league season. He was named to the American League All-Star team in July, joining Dingler, Greene and Justin Verlander in Philadelphia. In 141 games this season, he has a .273 batting average with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs, along with 12 stolen bases in 15 attempts. His on-base percentage is .373.

The Tigers could have more elite players on the roster in the future, like outfielder Max Clark, but they may need another year or two before they get back to the playoffs.