Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in lopsided loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Saturday's 15-7 loss to the Mariners.
A day after swiping two bases, McKinstry made his mark with his eighth home run of the season. It's one away from matching his career high, as the utility player hasn't generally been known for his power. McKinstry is also now sitting with an .842 OPS, which would easily be a new high-water mark and is well above his career .684 figure. McKinstry has been a sneaky fantasy performer in 2025 who can fill in at multiple positions across the field.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Swipes two bases in loss
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McKinstry went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI in Friday's 12-3 loss to the Mariners. He also stole two bases.
McKinstry kept his strong July rolling along, as he's now batting .323 with a 1.030 OPS across 10 games this month. He also stole two bases in a contest for the second time this season, with the other coming just three days prior. For the year, the utility player has now swiped 15 bases in 18 attempts, and he's paired that with a .287 batting average and .831 OPS through 86 games, giving McKinstry some unexpected fantasy value at this point in the season.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Doubles twice, drives in run
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McKinstry went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Wednesday's 7-3 loss to the Rays.
While Detroit's offense didn't really get rolling in this one, McKinstry managed to continue his strong July. The utility player is batting .310 this month with five extra-base hits in nine games. Overall, McKinstry is batting .286 with a robust .826 OPS, and he's been a pleasant surprise from an offensive standpoint for the surging Tigers. His efforts have also earned him his first career All-Star nod, as he was recently named as an injury replacement for Houston's Jeremy Pena (rib).
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 5-1 win over the Rays.
McKinstry launched his seventh home run of the season in the seventh inning, which was one of three Detroit long balls on the night. The veteran utility player continued his strong recent play, as he's now batting .344 over his last 10 games with three home runs, four RBI and eight runs scored. Overall, McKinstry is sporting a .285 batting average and an .819 OPS, both of which are significantly above his career marks of .233 and .678, respectively.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Knocks big homer
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McKinstry went 1-for-4 with a solo home run during Friday's 2-1 win over the Guardians.
McKinstry has seen a more reliable, consistent role since the injury to Kerry Carpenter (hamstring), and he rewarded his team with what turned out to be the game-winning homer Friday. The 30-year-old McKinstry now has six home runs as part of a season in which he is slashing .289/.361/.462 with eight doubles and 26 RBI.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Could benefit sans Carpenter
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McKinstry will start at third base and bat sixth in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader versus the Nationals.
Though the Tigers had shown more of a willingness to use Colt Keith at third base of late, McKinstry could end up seeing the bulk of the playing time at the position for the duration of Detroit's first-half schedule. With Kerry Carpenter (hamstring) landing on the injured list Wednesday and likely to be held out through the All-Star break, the Tigers will have openings for Keith at first base or designated hitter, with Spencer Torkelson likely starting at the other spot. McKinstry should thus have a clear path to steady playing time at third base in the short term, though the utility player had already been included in the Detroit lineup in five of the previous six contests. McKinstry's production had been tailing off in the second half of May, but he sported a hot bat throughout June, finishing the month with a .321/.353/.538 slash line to go with two home runs and seven stolen bases in 24 games.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Losing work at hot corner
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
For the second time in three games, McKinstry will hit the bench while the Tigers face a right-handed starting pitcher. With the team getting more comfortable using Colt Keith at third base, McKinstry's primary path to playing time appears to be closing. The 30-year-old is still capable of filling in at two other infield spots as well as both corner outfield spots, but his at-bats could become sporadic now that all of Detroit's key hitters are available, sans Matt Vierling (shoulder).
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Swipes bag in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Thursday's 3-2, extra-inning loss to the White Sox. He also stole a base.
McKinstry continues to produce for the Tigers with hits in four of his last five games and a .271 average for the season. The utility man is also up to four stolen bases, and after recording 16 steals each of the last two years, he could start running more moving forward. McKinstry isn't the most exciting player, but his versatility and steady production is getting him into the lineup most days.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Scores lone run Sunday
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a triple and a run scored in Sunday's 1-0 win over the Royals.
McKinstry delivered his fourth triple of the season in the third inning, then came around to score the game's only run on a wild pitch. The veteran utility player continues to hit surprisingly well with a .267 batting average and .778 OPS through 53 games. McKinstry's career figures are .226 and .662, respectively, as he's mostly been known for his versatile defensive abilities.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Resting up Saturday
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
The Tigers will give McKinstry a day off Saturday after he went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout during Friday's contest. His absence will allow Javier Baez to start at the hot corner while batting ninth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Hits second home run
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McKinstry went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.
McKinstry hit his second home run of the season in the fourth inning against Toronto starter Bowden Francis. The infielder now has half as many long balls as he did during the 2024 regular season, and while he's not a huge power threat, he's been effective with a .286 batting average and .803 OPS through 41 games in 2025. Both of those figures would be new career highs for McKinstry.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat Monday
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
Unless he's used off the bench, McKinstry will put an eight-game hitting streak on hold while he takes a seat after starting each of the last four games. McKinstry has been an unsung hero in the Tigers' 18-10 start to the season, slashing .321/.426/.476 with one home run and two stolen bases while making starts at second base, third base, right field and left field. Though McKinstry may not have a permanent home at any one position, the Tigers should continue to make regular room for him in the lineup against right-handed pitching while he's wielding a hot bat.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Absent from Detroit lineup
Rotowire
McKinstry is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Padres.
It's a routine day off for McKinstry, who had started 12 of the previous 13 games for the Tigers. He'll yield to Justyn-Henry Malloy in left field Tuesday.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Batting third again Saturday
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McKinstry is starting in right field and batting third in Saturday's game against the Royals.
After mostly batting lower in the order earlier in the season, McKinstry is now starting and batting third for the second time in the last three games. The versatile 29-year-old has appeared in all 20 of Detroit's games to date, and he's performed well with a .765 OPS. McKinstry may see a reduction in playing time once the likes of Matt Vierling (shoulder), Wenceel Perez (back) and Parker Meadows (arm) are able to return from injury.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not starting versus lefty
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McKinstry is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Milwaukee, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
The lefty-swinging McKinstry will grab a seat as left-hander Jose Quintana toes the slab for the Brewers. McKinstry has been seeing most of his playing time in right field lately, but that spot will be covered by Justyn-Henry Malloy in Wednesday's series finale.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBI in Tuesday's win over the Yankees.
McKinstry plated the game's first run on a sacrifice fly in the second. He then took part in a three-homer fourth inning for the Tigers with a solo blast to right center field for his first long ball of the year. McKinstry has had a fast start at the dish so far, hitting safely in each of his last six games while owing a .355 average and .447 on-base percentage for the year.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not in Detroit lineup
Rotowire
McKinstry is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
The left-handed hitting McKinstry started Sunday's contest versus the White Sox against a lefty, but he'll begin this one on the bench as the Yankees turn to southpaw Carlos Rodon. Andy Ibanez is at third base and Manuel Margot will patrol right field for the Tigers.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Reaches three times in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 7-4 win over the White Sox.
It was a productive evening for McKinstry and it continued his impressive start to the season. The utility player is slashing .280/.379/.360 through seven contests, and he's seen time at five different positions already. McKinstry's .739 OPS would be a new career high, but it remains to be seen if the 29-year-old can sustain this level of production over the course of the year.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat against lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.
Left-hander Blake Snell will draw the start for Los Angeles on Thursday, so the lefty-hitting McKinstry will begin Opening Day on the bench. Andy Ibanez will draw the start at third base instead and bat leadoff.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Set for strong-side platoon at 3B
Rotowire
McKinstry is expected to open the season in the long side of a platoon at third base with Andy Ibanez, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
The Tigers optioned Jace Jung to Triple-A Toledo on Monday, a transaction which cinches a McKinstry/Ibanez platoon at the hot corner while Matt Vierling (shoulder) is out. McKinstry slashed only .215/.277/.337 with four homers across 118 regular-season contests for the Tigers last season. He did steal 16 bases without being caught, and that, along with his multi-position eligibility, gives McKinstry some utility in very deep leagues.
