The Detroit Tigers may embrace the future quite quickly in 2020.
The Tigers announced their 60-man player pool for the shortened MLB season on Sunday. It includes highly-touted prospects such as pitcher Casey Mize and outfielder Riley Greene, the team’s top draft picks in 2018 and 2019.
Not included is 2020 No. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson, who has not signed his deal with the team yet. This is expected to happen in the coming days, and according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, that could see him added to the squad.
No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson, after signing his big deal in a couple days, is a logical/likely add for Tigers. As one person put it: “He could bat cleanup for them right now.” https://t.co/VSDUU0AGdb
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 28, 2020
This isn’t a guarantee that Torkelson will play this year. It would, however, make him eligible to. It may be that the Tigers leave him as part of their 20-man taxi squad that can be shuttled to Detroit throughout the season as needed.
With no minor league seasons this year, teams will be looking for ways to get their top prospects competitive action. Keeping them around the MLB club is certainly a way to do that, and the Tigers aren’t the only organization considering doing this with their first-round pick.
