Former No. 1 pick sent down to minor leagues
Jun 28, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson (20) during warmups before the start of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
A number of top prospects have debuted in Major League Baseball in 2022 and found quick success. Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson is not one of them. The team on Sunday decided to address that.
The Tigers announced that they have demoted Torkelson to Triple-A, where he will begin the second half of the season. The No. 1 overall pick in 2020 was hitting just .197 with five home runs in 83 games.
Manager A.J. Hinch suggested that the team wants Torkelson to rebuild his confidence and refocus outside of the MLB spotlight.
A.J. Hinch: "We a have plan in place to get him some at-bats and get him back to being the offensive force that we know he’s gonna be. It’s much less spotlight to do it in Triple A than it is to continue to do this in the big leagues." https://t.co/mLsNgKEvsF
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) July 17, 2022
Torkelson made the Tigers out of spring training. It was made quite clear at the time that the organization expected that to be a permanent move. However, the 22-year-old struggled at the plate from the get-go. The Tigers stuck it out with Torkelson, hoping he was simply adapting to MLB pitching. But things did not improve as the season went on.
Torkelson was a .267 hitter with a .552 slugging percentage in the minors, so he can hit at that level. The first baseman is still young and has plenty of time to turn things around.
