00:00Tigers have won five in a row, playing another home game this afternoon at 110.
00:04Lots to discuss, but A.J., we have to start with McGonagall, right?
00:10I feel like my day starts with McGonagall a lot.
00:12He gets asked about a ton.
00:15I mean, he's one of many things that we're happy with what's going on right now,
00:20but what a few days for that man.
00:23What does it mean for him, for the organization,
00:25to get that commitment done when you guys got it done?
00:29Well, it means he's going to be perfectly fine financially, I can tell you that.
00:34He is obviously taking a huge step for him and his family.
00:40Obviously, to have him as a stable part of our team moving forward is pretty awesome,
00:45and then now it's get to the work.
00:47I mean, the business side of the game obviously happens behind the scenes,
00:51and it combines with what's going on in the field.
00:55He has a lot of work to do.
00:56We're going to keep pushing him, but we could celebrate yesterday.
00:59It's a huge day for players, and specifically Kevin,
01:03getting that kind of security and that kind of stability for our fans.
01:07So, not a finished product.
01:09We all realize that.
01:10But when you say things like he's got a lot of work to do,
01:14we're obviously looking at it going, well, he's hitting 313.
01:17He's a one-two war player.
01:20We look at his OPS, all these different things.
01:23When you say something like that, what does that mean?
01:27Well, you guys are looking at the scoreboard, which is obviously super impressive.
01:31He has a lot of the nuances of the game.
01:34He's 21, never played in AAA, and is learning a lot of things on the fly here.
01:39Now, he's handling it great, and he is a sensational player.
01:42So, don't confuse me saying he's got a lot of work to do,
01:47but we're not satisfied with what he's doing.
01:50It's just the work is just now beginning.
01:52I mean, the contract is the contract, but the play on the field is always going to be pushed.
02:00And so, for him, it might be situational hitting.
02:02It might be a little bit of base running, positioning.
02:05We're still moving him between two positions.
02:07And, you know, there's, as an example, he's made an adjustment in how he approaches a ball to his right,
02:15where he's doing it a little bit more one-handed.
02:17Joey's done a good job of getting him, you know, moving forward a little bit
02:21to cut off some of the distance of that throw.
02:23So, like, there's just a lot of nuances of the sport that maybe don't show up on a scoreboard
02:27when you're talking about him hitting 313.
02:30That's great.
02:30There's a lot that goes into getting him to that point.
02:33Talking to Tiger manager A.J. Hinch,
02:36one last McGonigal question for me.
02:38There are people who say he's only played 17 games at the time,
02:41or he hasn't had 100 at-bats.
02:44Organizationally, maybe it's more of a Scott question,
02:45but from what you see from him, why are you guys so confident in him?
02:50Well, I can speak on the field about why we're so confident
02:53is because he's got great instincts, great baseball timing.
02:57His preparation is really good.
03:00He's a sponge when it comes to baseball.
03:02And, like, he loves the game.
03:03He loves learning.
03:05He can be coached, and he can be coached hard.
03:08So, like, there's a lot to love about just the overall player in his own right,
03:13but it's also how he does it, controls the strike zone.
03:17You know, when he comes up to bat, there's a ball-and-play element.
03:20Like, of course, he's going to punch out, but he's also going to walk.
03:23It's just this contribution on a daily basis can happen.
03:27Whether or not those scoreboard numbers get better, he's a real threat.
03:31And so, from a prospect standpoint or from a business standpoint,
03:36obviously, Scott was willing to commit, and Kevin was willing to commit back.
03:42And that longevity that we always yearn for,
03:45we always want these identifiable players.
03:48Like, we have it.
03:49You know, we can question it as we go because he's either going to outperform the deal
03:53or underperform the deal.
03:54Like, that's the way that people evaluate things.
03:57But from an overall skill set, it's very unique at this age
04:01to be able to control the game the way that he does.
04:04Cole Keith is another guy that has started off in the positive.
04:08Is this just the maturation process?
04:11Now he's in year three, or what are you seeing that he's doing differently
04:16to provide him some success at the plate?
04:19You know, he is maturing.
04:21And I think it actually brings up a great point with Kevin.
04:24Like, Kevin would be a college junior if he had gone to Auburn and entered the draft.
04:29Cole is not too far behind him.
04:31He's just been around our team a lot and our fans,
04:33and people are used to him being in the big leagues.
04:36But he's still young and maturing.
04:38We have to let these guys play and have to let them mature
04:41to where they have an understanding of what an approach is
04:44or they have an understanding when to concede power for ball and play
04:48and spray the ball around a little bit.
04:50And, like, you see Riley Green getting a little bit better.
04:53You're going to see, you know, Wessel Perez get a little bit better.
04:56You're going to see, you know, young players come up and not be perfect.
05:00I think Cole's a good example of, like, hey, let him get settled.
05:04Let him get his feet on the ground while he's playing at the toughest level
05:06at the earliest of ages.
05:08His bat to ball is very, very good,
05:11and we're seeing more and more of that as he gets more bats under his belt.
05:15Is the plan to largely use him as a platoon bat?
05:18I know you guys have hardly faced any lefties.
05:20I wondered if teams still had lefty starters for a while there.
05:23But in terms of Keats' usage, is this the plan,
05:25is to play him primarily against righties and rarely against lefties?
05:29I don't know that I have a plan too far out into the future
05:33because I believe in adjustments and guys doing a little bit better.
05:37You know, I think in a lot of ways, like, you know,
05:39I give Pierre Carpenter and a bat against a lefty yesterday against Lynch,
05:42and then I may start one of these games.
05:45We have not faced a left-handed starter until the first game of this series.
05:50We have one today.
05:51Cole's not going to play.
05:53But then we have Suarez and Crochet in Boston.
05:55We're going to come back,
05:56and I think Harrison's pitching against us with Milwaukee,
05:59and we're going to start to see with a little more regularity.
06:02I think Cole Keith can handle left-handed pitching.
06:05The strength of our team right now is we don't have to test it.
06:09We probably will at some point and give him kind of sprinkle in a little bit more
06:14at-bats and see how his adjustments go.
06:18I wanted to ask you about Riley Green.
06:19You already brought him up a little bit in regards to his approach at the plate.
06:24I know he's tracking to cut down on the strikeouts,
06:27and I asked this question, you had two of them last night.
06:30But is there something that's different about his approach,
06:35or did he tweak his swing that is the reason for the cut down
06:40in the number of strikeouts he's having?
06:43So a couple things.
06:44One, I think the thing that, and I've had a couple players in my past
06:49who have struck out a lot, and then strikeout becomes a topic,
06:52and then every time he strikes out, there's like a 150% reaction to the strikeout
06:57of like, oh my God, he's going to strike out.
06:59This is a very tough game.
07:01So even if you strike out 150 times, which is a lot,
07:05but it doesn't, we can't get into the mindset of every time he strikes out
07:09that they're all equal.
07:10The strike zone control is going to be super huge.
07:13He did not change his swing.
07:15I think his approach and mindset has changed a little bit.
07:18He's still empty in the tank.
07:19You know, he knows he's in the lineup for power as well,
07:22but he's got to pick when he's going to take his shots.
07:25Like not every pitch is meant to be hit 500 feet,
07:28even though sometimes when you swing and miss,
07:30that appearance of trying to hit the ball into the second deck
07:34or above the Comerica bank sign,
07:35like that to me is an approach conversation,
07:40not a swing mechanic conversation.
07:42So he's tracking balls a little bit better.
07:44He's walked a little bit, which is, which is key.
07:47When you look at strikes, you should look at walks,
07:49the knowledge of the strike zone is getting a tick better.
07:51And when, when to take his shots of, of, you know,
07:55whether it's sitting pitch or location to try to launch.
07:58I think those are, those are, again,
08:00steps in the right direction for Riley.
08:02Talking to AJ Hinch, Tiger manager, team plays today,
08:04looking for six in a row.
08:06I like to say you've got the best Jansen in town.
08:08What has he brought to the late game for you guys,
08:11but, but also the clubhouse too.
08:13Yeah.
08:14That was a pretty cool moment the other night when he became third all time
08:17and saves, we got to talk about him in the clubhouse as a team.
08:22He addressed the group and,
08:24and just talked about the journey to get here.
08:25And, you know, it, it takes me back to when Miggy was, you know,
08:29was here at the end with 3000 and 500 hits like these accomplishments.
08:33Like,
08:34I don't even know if half my clubhouse really understands who Lee Smith is or
08:38Trevor, Trevor Hoffman, you know,
08:41like the guys that have,
08:41that have stood the test of time at the back end of these games.
08:44And so we, you know,
08:46what Kenley has been as a very stable presence, you know,
08:50he is one of the hardest workers on our team,
08:52which I think is noteworthy to be able to do what he does at his size at 38.
08:58I think even,
08:58even talking the other night about him being a position change guy,
09:02he started out as a catcher and there's highlights of him in the WBC throwing
09:06out guys, you know, for, for Curacao.
09:08So I think, I think for, for Kenley,
09:11they've been there done that part that a lot of us don't know how to like
09:15measure or capture or, or tell you exactly what it means,
09:19but you can feel it on a team when yesterday,
09:22when, when Wentz will hit the Homer,
09:24we have Kenley Jansen coming in.
09:26It just feels different when you have his presence at the back of the game.
09:29Well,
09:30I did want to ask you about Wentz Hill Perez as well,
09:33because I know he was a guy that didn't make the club.
09:36That was probably a tough conversation.
09:38We saw him a lot last year.
09:40Now he gets his opportunity.
09:41It had to be a special moment.
09:43Cause I know you've got great relationships with these guys to see him come
09:47in yesterday in that moment in the eighth inning and hit a game winner.
09:52Yeah.
09:52The hardest thing in those conversations is it can be an unfair conversation,
09:56unfair situation and a, the right decision.
09:59Like we needed to send them out.
10:00He had a few things to address.
10:02We also had, you know,
10:03a configuration of a team we felt comfortable with and he's just the odd man
10:07out, but it didn't mean that it was over for him.
10:10And he,
10:10he went and played well for the few games that he did in AAA comes back up.
10:14And then you fight the urge to like, I have to do something.
10:17I have to do something.
10:18And I want to get that first hit.
10:19And I started them and he hadn't gotten a hit yet.
10:22Then he comes off the bench yesterday, you know,
10:24for an injury and he's ambushed to come in the game and finds himself
10:28preparing to hit right-handed because Daniel Lynch was in the game.
10:31The next inning rolls around, they bring in a right.
10:33He's got to hit left-handed boom,
10:35hits the Homer and that infectious smile and the energy and the little hoppy run
10:39that he has is like, it's just a,
10:41he's a very fun guy to have on a team and our players love them.
10:45And the fact that the game kind of punched him in the face by sending them
10:48out, you know, at the end of camp,
10:52feels pretty rewarding for him to come up and contribute to a big win.
10:56He's Tiger manager, AJ Hinch.
10:57AJ, appreciate some of your time.
10:59You got it.
11:00Take care.
11:01It's 97-1.
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