Two-Time Navigator Ben Malgeri Makes MLB Debut for Tigers

LYNN, Mass. 一 For the seventh time in team history and third time in the last four seasons, a former North Shore Navigator has been called to The Show.

Outfielder Ben Malgeri, who put together two incredible summers in a North Shore uniform in 2019 and 2020, made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. Starting in right field against the New York Yankees, Malgeri hit a line-drive single on the first pitch he saw from Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon and finished 2-for-3 with a run scored in the game.

Malgeri was Detroit's 18th-round draft choice out of Northeastern University in 2021, but made previous stops at the College of the Holy Cross and New Mexico Junior College. The native of Stratham, N.H., has played in 531 career games while climbing the minor league ladder, spending parts of three seasons each with the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps and Double-A Erie Seawolves before getting his first shot at Triple-A with the Toledo Mud Hens this season.

Though he is not ranked as a top-30 prospect in the Tigers organization according to MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, consistent production and a career-best 2026 led to Malgeri's recall. He posted a .296 average, .897 OPS, nine home runs and 34 RBI in 65 games for the Mud Hens this season and now has a .775 career OPS as a professional.

A two-time All-Futures League performer and the 2020 Futures League Defensive Player of the Year, Malgeri hit .333 with 38 extra-base hits, 54 RBI, 88 runs scored and 26 stolen bases across 80 career games as a Navigator. He is one of just four players in franchise history with 100 or more total hits and remains the career leader in runs, doubles and triples, while holding two of the top four single-season run totals.

Malgeri first joined the Navigators following his freshman year at Holy Cross in 2019, posting a .333 average with 18 extra-base hits, 27 RBI and 42 runs scored in 42 games. He returned to Fraser Field the following summer and was an even brighter star, leading the Futures League in total hits (49), extra-base hits (20), runs scored (46) and stolen bases (18) while hitting at an identical .333 clip in 38 contests. 

Following his time on the North Shore, Malgeri put together a draft-worthy junior campaign at Northeastern, hitting .280 with seven homers, 28 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 45 games. Five of his long balls came during the Huskies' postseason run, as he was named CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Malgeri joins former teammate Sal Frelick (Boston College, 2018 & 2020) as the second Navigators alumnus on an active MLB roster. Frelick is currently in his fourth season with the Milwaukee Brewers, who drafted him as the No. 15 overall pick in 2021. Frelick and Malgeri were two-thirds of the 2020 first-team All-Futures League outfield. 

The latest Navigators alum to make his MLB debut before Malgeri was Brian Van Belle (Miami, 2017), who pitched in four games for the Tampa Bay Rays last August and September.

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