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Will 2020 No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson find his footing at the big league level in 2025? Ben Verlander of Fox Sports is a believer in the Detroit Tigers 25-year-old. However, is Verlander's following post an over-exaggeration or is he correct in his assessment?
“What’s one takeaway for you from Opening Day? I’ll start: 1st overall pick Spencer Torkelson has arrived,” Verlander wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
First, let's take a look at what prompted the message.
Although the Tigers were defeated 5-4 by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, Torkelson went 1-1 with a home run and four walks. Yes, that OBP will play just fine.
It was a quality performance for Torkelson without question. This is a player who has failed to live up to expectations so far in his career, though. In fact, there were no guarantees that Torkelson was going to make the Tigers' 2025 Opening Day roster.
Torkelson offers versatility for Detroit. The Tigers are hopeful that he can emerge as a star at some point down the road. They are set to give him another opportunity this season, but Torkelson has been given opportunities before at the MLB level.
Spencer Torkelson's MLB career
Torkelson made his big league debut in 2022. He hit just .203 with a .604 OPS across 110 games, but the Tigers remained confident in the former No. 1 overall pick. After all, it was just one season.
In 2023, though, Torkelson continued to struggle at the plate. He ended up hitting .233 with a .758 OPS in 159 games played. Torkelson did manage to crush 31 home runs in his first full season at the MLB level, but he still wasn't producing No. 1 overall pick numbers.
Things got even worse in 2024.
Torkelson struggled mightily to begin the '24 campaign before the Tigers made the surprising decision to demote him to the minor leagues. He was later promoted to the big league team once again, but Torkelson finished the season with a lackluster .219/.295/.374/.669 slash line across 92 games played.
Will Torkelson find his groove with the Tigers in 2025?
Looking back at the original question, is Ben Verlander correct in his Opening Day takeaway?
Although Torkelson has yet to truly find his rhythm with the Tigers, it is important to remember that he is only 25 years old. Some prospects simply take longer to settle in. Sure, there have been players such as Juan Soto and Bryce Harper who have posted elite numbers in their early 20's. Other players, however, don't get things going until their mid-late 20's.
It seems as if the Tigers are prepared to give Spencer Torkelson an opportunity to play everyday. He was the designated hitter on Thursday. Torkelson is a first baseman as well, and there is even a chance that he could spend some time in the outfield this year. Regardless of which position Torkelson ends up playing, he is going to receive plenty of at-bats.
If Torkelson can cut down on his strikeouts — his 27.6 percent strikeout rate in 2024 was a career-high — then he will take a step in the right direction. Torkelson has displayed the ability to hit for power in the past — he recorded career-highs in home run percentage (4.5 percent) and hard-hit percentage (50.9 percent) during his 31-home run 2023 campaign.
If the Tigers infielder can limit his strikeouts while hitting the ball hard once again, he will enjoy a big season. The Tigers selected him first overall in the 2020 MLB Draft for a reason. Torkelson features the ceiling of a superstar, and perhaps everything will come together in 2025.
