McGonigle Headlines Three Tigers Up for Silver Slugger Awards

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McGonigle Headlines Three Tigers Up for Silver Slugger Awards

Glenn Kaplan · Detroit Sports Nation

Thu, November 5, 2026 at 7:15 PM UTC ·

3 min read

How the Silver Slugger Award Works

Manny Randhawa of mlb.com laid out what the award is and who votes on it. "The Silver Slugger Award is presented to the best hitter at each position in each league annually, and it is voted on by MLB managers and coaches (who are not allowed to vote for players on their own teams). The coveted honor was established in 1980, with new categories for best-hitting utility player (2022) and best offensive team (2023) added in recent years."

The winners will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 17. Detroit had two Silver Slugger winners last season , Riley Greene in the outfield and Zach McKinstry at utility.

Dillon Dingler Made the Cut Despite a Second-Half Collapse

Dingler played 145 games for the Tigers in 2026. He hit .243 with 27 home runs and 91 RBIs and did not attempt a stolen base. His on-base percentage was .302, his slugging percentage was .446 and his OPS was .749.

Randhawa said about Dingler cooling off, "Dingler was putting together a huge season for the Tigers through early August. Over his first 106 games, he owned an .877 OPS with 26 home runs. But from there, his bat cooled off considerably — he produced a .149/.195/.203 slash line with one homer the rest of the way. Still, his season at the plate was impressive overall — his 27 homers were tied with his Silver Slugger co-finalist for most among AL backstops." Carter Jensen of the Kansas City Royals is the other catcher finalist in the American League.

Kevin McGonigle's Rookie Season Put Him in the Shortstop Field

McGonigle played 156 games for the Tigers in 2026. He hit .278 with 18 home runs and 72 RBIs and went 12 for 16 on stolen base attempts. His on-base percentage was .376, his slugging percentage was .430 and his OPS was .806.

Randhawa said about McGonigle's rookie season, "McGonigle had a stellar rookie campaign for Detroit, making him a leading AL Rookie of the Year candidate . He produced a .278/.376/.430 slash line with 18 homers in an AL-high 707 plate appearances. His 19.6% chase rate ranked in the 98th percentile among qualified batters, and his 13.4% walk rate ranked in the 94th percentile."

Two other American League shortstops are finalists: Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals and Zach Neto of the Los Angeles Angels.

Riley Greene Is One of Nine AL Outfield Silver Slugger Finalists

Greene is one of nine outfielders in the American League field, and he is going for the award in back-to-back seasons. Greene played 140 games in 2026 and hit .280 with 21 home runs and 75 RBIs, along with three stolen bases on four attempts. He had a .370 on-base percentage, a .474 slugging percentage and an .844 OPS.

The other eight outfield finalists are Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox, Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners, Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees, Jac Caglianone of the Kansas City Royals, Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians, Tristan Peters of the Chicago White Sox, Chandler Simpson of the Tampa Bay Rays and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. Three of the nine will take home the award.