It’s baseball season once again, which means it’s time to talk roster expectations for the 2022 season. Perhaps the biggest storyline surrounding opening day rosters centers around the Detroit Tigers as they announced that their 2020 number one overall draft pick Spencer Torkelson will be a part of the 2022 roster. Torkelson had played three seasons at Arizona State University and was rated MLB’s top prospect, which made him an easy draft choice for the Tigers who had the number one pick in 2020. He was unable to play baseball in 2020 because the minor league season got canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. This led people to believe that his development could be delayed, but after a great minor league season in 2021, the Tigers feel optimistic in what they saw in his development, so they decided now is the right time to bring him up to the Major League level. Torkelson is expected to be the player at the center of the Tigers rebuild, which seems to be ahead of schedule after the team won 77 games in 2021 under first-year Manager AJ Hinch. This is an exciting moment for the Tigers franchise, its fans, and Spencer Torkelson.
Spencer Torkelson attended Casa Grande High School in California where he was a three-sport athlete. As a high school baseball player, he batted .430 with 11 home runs and 99 runs-batted in. He later announced his commitment to play baseball at Arizona State.
While at ASU, Spencer Torkelson broke multiple school and conference records. He batted .320, with 25 home runs, and 53 RBIs in 55 games in his freshman season. His 25 home runs set a Pac-12 Conference record for a freshman. His 25 home runs also set the school record for most home runs by a freshman. The previous school record holder was Sun Devils legend Barry Bonds. Torkelson was a part of the 2019 ASU team that won 38 games, but the Sun Devils crashed in the regionals. The Sun Devils played just 17 games in 2020 before the rest of the season was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Torkelson hit six home runs that season. He finished his career with 53 home runs, which was 3 shy of a school record for career home runs. He then declared for the 2020 MLB Draft.
Spencer Torkelson was selected number one overall by the Detroit Tigers in the 2020 draft. He did not play minor league baseball games in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season in the midst of the Pandemic. Torkelson put together a remarkable 2021 season in the minors as he quickly ascended through the ranks. He started out in High-A ball where he batted .312 with 5 home runs and 28 RBIs over a 31 game span. He got promoted to Double-A and batted .263 with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs over a 50 game span. After moving up to Triple-A, Torkelson batted .238 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs over a 40 game span.
So, what are the expectations for Torkelson and how will his presence affect the Tigers record in 2022? Well, given the way Spencer Torkelson has dominated throughout his high school and college career, along with his rapid success in the minors, the Tigers are expecting Torkelson to give their offense an immediate boost this year. In regards to the overall record for Detroit, they are still a young team coming off of a 2021 season where they went 77-85 and finished 3rd in the AL Central. It’s conceivable that a strong season from Torkelson could push the Tigers above .500 in 2022. However, there is no exact science behind winning games, and just because you exceeded expectations one year doesn’t mean you will exceed them again the following year. It’s important to note that the Tigers weren’t very active in the offseason in terms of pursuing the big names in free agency, so reality suggests that they are in for another losing season in 2022. Only time will tell.
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