Kevin McGonigle arrives with a bang: "I dreamed of this"

On the first pitch he saw in the majors, with the bases loaded on Opening Day, Kevin McGonigle ripped an RBI double down the right field line. In his next at-bat, he doubled off the right-field wall, and came around to score. He singled in his third at-bat, and came around to score. He popped out in his fourth -- how dare he?

McGonigle stroked another line drive for a single in the ninth, putting the proper bow on his MLB debut in the Tigers' 8-2 win over the Padres.

One of the top prospects in baseball has officially arrived.

"I dreamed of this. It hit me during the flyover before the game," McGonigle told Detroit SportsNet on the field in San Diego after the win. "Again, it’s hard to put into words, but I was just very happy I did what I had to do to win today, and I’m looking forward to doing that all season."

McGonigle, 21, started the afternoon by becoming the youngest Tiger to start on Opening Day since Omar Infante in 2003. He ended it by becoming just the sixth MLB player since 1900 to tally four hits in an Opening Day debut.

Jumping to the majors from Double-A is incredibly hard. McGonigle just has a knack for making things look easy. His teammates have helped.

McGonigle said backup catcher Jake Rogers was the most excited for him of anyone in the dugout on Thursday.

"Everyone’s been right by my side. If I have any questions, everyone’s telling me to go to them," McGonigle said. "This is the team to be on right now. I’m so happy that I get to share this with these guys and go out and go to war with everyone."

On the biggest stage of his life, McGonigle didn't blink. He opened even more eyes in the process.

"It was a dream my whole life, and I’m living in it right now and I’m still taking it all in, " he said. "I’s the first time I’ve played in front of (this many) people, and I’m just happy it went well for us today."