Spencer Torkelson entered the 2022 season as a top-three prospect in baseball.
Some thought he was the best, ahead of Adley Rutschman and Bobby Witt Jr.
He was seen as the future of the Detroit Tigers, the man who was supposed to signal the end of their rebuild and the beginning of a new era of contention.
Those plans hit a wall last year, though.
After dominating in Double-A and Triple-A in 2021, Torkelson was merely average in 155 Triple-A plate appearances and very bad in MLB, where he slashed .203/.285/.319Â with just eight homers in 404 trips to the plate.
For the first time in years, he faced some adversity.
A lot of people are making the mistake of writing him off.
But remember: Torkelson is just 23, has a beautiful swing and a lot of pedigree.
He won’t disappear from the map after one bad season.
To the contrary, he looks like a man on a mission.
It’s only day 2 of real spring training action and Spencer Torkelson is already hitting nukes
That feeling you feel is called hope pic.twitter.com/WLOBKLfvvo
— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) February 15, 2023
You can tell he put in the work in the offseason.
Not only he is already in Tigers camp when it’s not even his turn (position players will officially report next week), but he is looking great in batting practice, hitting homer after homer.
The Tigers were awful in 2022 and look at least a few years away from contending, but Torkelson figures to be a lot better in 2023 than he showed in 2022.
He still projects as a middle of the order masher, with plenty of power and patience.
He is still the future in Detroit, and one bad year won’t change that.
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