What happened to MLB’s 2020 1st overall pick?
In the 2020 MLB draft the Detroit Tigers selected Spencer Torkelson with the fist overall pick. The third/first baseman was a huge slugger coming out of Arizona State that seen to help propel the Tigers in competing again. With a few seasons in the majors now, it seems that most Detroit fans have written him off. He’s only 24 so I think he has time to figure it out again. Torkelson had every right to be the first overall pick in 2019 he led of college baseball in homeruns and even broke Barry Bond’s freshman homerun record at Arizona State. At the time the ceiling was huge for Torkelson.
When Torkelson got called up in 2022 his situation wasn’t the greatest. It was a very weak Tigers team. They weren’t much protection in the lineup to help out Torkelson. His first year Torkelson finished with 8 home runs, .203 batting average, and .604 ops. Torkelson really struggled his first about halfway he was sent back down to the minors to help him figure it out.
2023 was a different year for Torkelson. This year was much improved and that started off with plate discipline. In the month of May is on base percentage climbed over 100 points. It just seemed like the slugger needed more reps. Better discipline led to better swings, and better swings led to better barrel rates. Torkelson also improved vastly against the fastball. His approach at the plate changed and his batting average against fastballs jumped 100 points. Adding more displince led to Torkelson breaking out and leading to 31 home run seasons. It had been 7 years since a player on Tigers had a 30 plus home run season running all the way back to Miguel Cabrera. With Torkelson’s high barrel rate it ranked him seventh in all of baseball, proving to be one of the better hitters in the league. This year Detroit shocked many with a second place finish.
In seemed like the 2024 Tigers was on everyone’s radar coming into the season. They have lots of young talent and many had them winning the division, since the American league was so weak. As the season is coming to a close the Tigers are batting for a playoff spot, but it doesn’t seem likely that they make the playoffs. One of reasons the Tigers are being held back is because of Torkelson. He was been terrible again and has been sent back down to the minors. Someone who was seen as the best slugger on this team, now even isn’t a part of it. Torkelson has lost his approach to fastballs and is average against them is back down 100 points only hitting .184. Nothing has really changed for Torkelson other than launch angle. Some guys get carried away with launch angle and hitting home runs and I believe this happened to Torkelson. Torkelson now having a larger launch angle has caused him to pop up more. Before getting sent down Torkelson was fifth in pop out percentage.
The question is, is time running out for Torkelson. Even after this year’s struggles, Torkelson is only 24 years old. He’s had success in the past, and I think he can come back to power hitting that he used to be.
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