McKinstry went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's 8-5 win over the Pirates.
McKinstry matched his season high with the three hits, and both of those performances have come this month. After a rough start to the year, the utility player has found his groove in August with a .326/.442/.419 slash line across 15 games. McKinstry's defensive versatility should keep him in the lineup most days, and he's starting to deliver some production for fantasy managers.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle against southpaw
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
The Tigers will keep McKinstry on the bench along with fellow left-handed hitter Colt Keith while southpaw Foster Griffin takes the hill for the Guardians. Corey Julks was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday and will step in for McKinstry in right field in his Tigers debut.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Stays hot with two hits, RBI
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Giants.
Detroit struggled to generate much offense as a team, but McKinstry did his part as he continued to swing a hot bat. The veteran utility player is now batting .421 across six games this month, and he's batting .378 across his last 15 contests dating back to July. McKinstry's overall .221 batting average reflects his slower start to the season, but he seems to be trending upward heading into the stretch run.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Gets aboard four times in win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's 8-0 win over the Mariners.
This was McKinstry's fourth multi-hit effort over his last 12 games. The utility man has taken over as the Tigers' preferred right fielder versus right-handed pitchers since the team lost Kerry Carpenter (foot) and Matt Vierling (groin) to the injured list. In a utility role this year, McKinstry is batting .219 with a .624 OPS, four home runs, 23 RBI, 28 runs scored, 12 doubles, three triples and one stolen base on six attempts.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Idle against lefty
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.
The Tigers will send the left-handed-hitting McKinstry to the bench while southpaw Trevor Rogers takes the hill for the Orioles in the series finale. Matt Vierling will draw the start in right field in McKinstry's stead and will bat eighth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Triples, reaches three times Monday
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a walk, a triple, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's 8-5 loss to the Orioles.
McKinstry is struggling overall with a .206 batting average and .594 OPS this season, though he's been better since the start of June. While the veteran utility player feels unlikely to match last year's career best totals of 12 home runs and 19 stolen bases, he is at least seeing regular playing time. McKinstry is known for moving around defensively, though he may focus primarily on right field in the short term with Wenceel Perez (orbital) and Kerry Carpenter (foot) both on the injured list.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
The utility man started the previous four games at three different positions but will hit the bench Sunday after going 5-for-14 with a double and an RBI during that span. Kerry Carpenter is manning right field while Gleyber Torres serves as the designated hitter in the series finale versus Kansas City.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Homers during win
Rotowire
McKinstry went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Athletics.
McKinstry provided Detroit with some breathing room in the fifth inning, launching a two-run homer off Jack Perkins for his fourth long ball of the season. Over his last 11 games, the infielder is batting .295 (13-for-44) while raising his season batting average by 25 points during that stretch.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Two hits, two runs in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Thursday's 10-4 loss to the Rangers.
While it's been a struggle overall this season for McKinstry, he is showing some signs of life lately. Over his last 12 games, the utility player is batting .304 with an .812 OPS, six RBI and eight runs scored, but McKinstry's season batting average (.199) and OPS (.577) are much more unsightly. The veteran is seeing fairly regular playing time at shortstop for the Tigers, so if he can keep up his recent level of performance, he has a path to consistent fantasy utility in the second half.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Goes deep in loss
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 7-5, 10-inning loss to the Astros,
McKinstry hit just his third home run of the season in the second inning to give the Tigers an early lead. It's mostly been an offensive struggle for the utility player, as he's batting just .191 with a .574 OPS, though he does now have consecutive multi-hit efforts. McKinstry is also seeing more regular time at shortstop recently, and he could start to raise his fantasy value a bit if he can string together a few more good performances.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Hitting bench Wednesday
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.
McKinstry will get the afternoon off after he went 5-for-25 with a solo home run, four walks and four additional runs while starting seven of the Tigers' last eight games. Though he appears to have a grasp on a near-everyday role for now, McKinstry's playing time could dry up if he continues to underwhelm at the plate. He's produced a .168/.258/.245 slash line over 165 plate appearances on the season.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Hits rare home run
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Thursday's 11-0 win over the Twins.
McKinstry's home run came against Minnesota catcher Alex Jackson in mop-up duty, but he'll take it all the same. The utility infielder has gone deep only twice this season in 45 games, and he's batting just .192 with a .564 OPS. It's a fall off from 2025, when McKinstry went deep 12 times in 144 regular-season contests and posted a .259 batting average along with a career-best .771 OPS.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Hitting bench Wednesday
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
McKinstry had started in each of Detroit's last three games, but he could be at risk of falling into more of a part-time role after the Tigers reinstated Gleyber Torres from the 10-day injured list Tuesday. Since the beginning of May, the Tigers rank 29th in the majors with a .287 wOBA, and McKinstry has played a major part in the team's offensive struggles. During that stretch, McKinstry is slashing just .127/.238/.141 over 86 plate appearances.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: On bench for nightcap
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader versus the Orioles.
After going 0-for-3 with a walk as the Tigers' leadoff batter in a 5-3 loss earlier in the day, the left-handed-hitting McKinstry will take a seat for the nightcap while the Orioles send southpaw Trevor Rogers to the bump. Hao-Yu Lee will enter the starting nine in place of McKinstry, covering second base while batting eighth.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Collects two hits Wednesday
Rotowire
McKinstry went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Wednesday's 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Guardians.
McKinstry was the only Detroit player with multiple hits, and it was his first time doing so since all the way back on April 4. It's been a struggle offensively for the veteran utility player, who is batting just .186 with a .503 OPS this season. McKinstry was much better during the 2025 regular season with a .259 average and .771 OPS, but he has career marks of just .229 and .671, respectively, and 2026 has seen regression set in.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Taking seat against southpaw
Rotowire
McKinstry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.
Though he'll hit the bench Sunday with lefty Noah Cameron taking the hill for the Royals, the left-handed-hitting McKinstry has been included in the lineup in all three of the Tigers' matchups with right-handed starters/bulk relievers since being activated from the injured list Tuesday. McKinstry is playing through a Grade 3 tear of his pelvic bone that he sustained back on April 15, but he'll likely hold down a strong-side platoon role for Detroit until the team gets one or both of Gleyber Torres (oblique) and Javier Baez (ankle) back from the IL.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Activated Tuesday
Rotowire
The Tigers reinstated McKinstry (hip) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
McKinstry landed on the shelf in mid-April due to hip inflammation, and he's now rejoining the Tigers after going 1-for-11 with a homer during a three-game rehab assignment. Manager A.J. Hinch said earlier in the day that the veteran utility man will be in the lineup for Tuesday's matchup with the Red Sox, but the Tigers have yet to officially release their starting nine for the contest.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
McKinstry (hip) went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Thursday in his first rehab game with Single-A Lakeland.
McKinstry has been cleared for game action after missing the past two weeks with left hip/abdominal inflammation. He didn't play a full game Thursday, and the Tigers likely want him to do that before he's activated, but McKinstry could return to Detroit's active roster as soon as next week.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Sent to 10-day IL
Rotowire
The Tigers placed McKinstry on the 10-day injured list Friday with left hip/abdominal inflammation.
McKinstry was forced from Wednesday's game against the Royals with a couple of issues, as he was also said to be dealing with a scraped chest. It's been a tough start to the 2026 campaign for the 2025 All-Star, as McKinstry is slashing just .209/.261/.326 across 46 plate appearances. In a corresponding move, the Tigers recalled Hao-Yu Lee from Triple-A Toledo.
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Tigers' Zach McKinstry: Will undergo further testing on hip
Rotowire
Manager A.J. Hinch said Thursday that McKinstry will undergo further testing on his injured hip, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, McKinstry is also dealing with an arm/shoulder issue and a scraped chest. McKinstry is "not moving around well" Thursday after he was pulled from Wednesday's game following a collision with Jac Caglianone. "We're going to continue to get him looked at," Hinch added. It sounds like McKinstry could be looking at a possible trip to the injured list. The utility man has not had a good start to the season at the plate, slashing .209/.261/.326 with one home run, five RBI, two runs scored and a 3:10 BB:K across 46 plate appearances. McKinstry posted a career-best .771 OPS last season and was named an All-Star.
