Spencer Torkelson

Spencer Torkelson

25-Year-Old First Baseman1B
Detroit Tigers
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Torkelson had a good 2023 campaign and all of his expected stats suggested his numbers should have been better, leading to many predicting a true breakout last season for the 2020 No. 1 overall pick. Instead, Torkelson took a huge step backward, getting demoted to Triple-A Toledo in early June following a .201/.266/.330 start. He rejoined the Tigers in August and flashed some promise that month, but a .677 OPS in September and a 45.8 percent strikeout rate in seven playoff games had fantasy managers scratching their heads again. All told, Torkelson's hard-hit rate went from the 94th percentile to the 45th percentile and his barrel rate went from the 89th percentile to the 37th percentile, all while his strikeout rate went up. He's still just 25, but anyone betting on a Torkelson bounce-back in 2025 would be making a bet purely on pedigree, as there wasn't much positive to glean from 2024. He also isn't guaranteed a spot on the big-league roster with Colt Keith moving to first base and Gleyber Torres taking over at second base. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#361
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Tigers in March of 2025.
Big performance in doubleheader
1BDetroit Tigers
May 8, 2025
Torkelson went 5-for-9 with two doubles, four RBI and two runs scored as the Tigers swept Thursday's doubleheader versus the Rockies.
ANALYSIS
Torkelson hadn't put together a multi-hit effort since April 17, but he took advantage of the Rockies' lackluster pitching in the twin bill. Over seven games in May, the first baseman has gone 9-for-30 (.300) with five extra-base hits and eight RBI. He's up to a .254/.356/.551 slash line with 10 homers, 11 doubles, 32 RBI, 28 runs scored and a stolen base over 38 games this season. Torkelson's performance took a step back in 2024, but he could have a breakout year in his fourth major-league season.
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Batting Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
5
12
6
1
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
5
3
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+21%
OPS vs LHP
2025
 
 
+31%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+27%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+12%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left .861 302 43 20 56 0 .240 .315 .547
Since 2023vs Right .713 925 118 31 107 4 .228 .312 .400
2025vs Left 1.082 52 9 5 14 0 .279 .385 .698
2025vs Right .827 111 19 5 18 1 .242 .342 .484
2024vs Left .798 89 9 4 10 0 .235 .292 .506
2024vs Right .629 291 36 6 27 0 .215 .296 .333
2023vs Left .829 161 25 11 32 0 .231 .304 .524
2023vs Right .737 523 63 20 62 3 .233 .315 .421
More Splits View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+1%
OPS at Home
2025
 
 
+3%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+39%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+17%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .752 587 71 21 76 1 .232 .324 .428
Since 2023Away .747 640 90 30 87 3 .231 .303 .444
2025Home .922 69 11 4 16 0 .254 .362 .559
2025Away .895 94 17 6 16 1 .253 .351 .544
2024Home .787 178 21 6 23 0 .247 .331 .456
2024Away .567 202 24 4 14 0 .196 .262 .304
2023Home .699 340 39 11 37 1 .219 .312 .387
2023Away .816 344 49 20 57 2 .246 .314 .502
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Stat Review
How does Spencer Torkelson compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.51
 
BB Rate
13.0%
 
K Rate
25.3%
 
BABIP
.244
 
ISO
.302
 
AVG
.233
 
OBP
.344
 
SLG
.535
 
OPS
.879
 
wOBA
.376
 
Exit Velocity
91.6 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
39.1%
 
Barrels/PA
9.7%
 
Expected BA
.256
 
Expected SLG
.598
 
Sprint Speed
23.4 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
33.7%
 
Line Drive %
17.4%
 
Fly Ball %
48.9%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2021
Torkelson had an underwhelming rookie campaign in 2022 with just eight home runs and a .604 OPS in 110 games, but he found his footing during his sophomore season with 31 long balls, 94 RBI, 88 runs and a .233/.313/.446 slash line. The counting stats are impressive given the production came as a member of Detroit's poor offense, which ranked 27th with an 89 wRC+. His defense at first base still leaves plenty to be desired, and he could see more run at designated hitter going forward with Miguel Cabrera headed for retirement. Torkelson's strikeout rate worsened slightly to 25.0 percent, but he improved his walk rate a bit to 10.0 percent. The real progress came in hard contact, as he significantly improved his barrel rate and hard-hit rate (to 14.1 percent and 50.5 percent, respectively). A .252 xBA and .480 xSLG also indicate some unfortunate luck for Torkelson, so it wouldn't be surprising if he takes another step forward in 2024.
Torkelson is a cautionary tale that prospect hype doesn't always translate to immediate MLB success. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft made his much-anticipated debut on Opening Day 2022 but never really got going for the Tigers. He batted .190 in April with a 33.8 percent strikeout rate, which set the tone for the rest of his rookie season. Torkelson was optioned to Triple-A Toledo in July to help get him back on track, and he returned to Detroit in September. He was marginally better over the final month of the season, batting .219 with a 21.7 percent strikeout rate. Overall, it was a disappointing campaign for the 23-year-old, but fantasy managers should remain patient. Torkelson was regarded as an elite hitter during his time at Arizona State, and prospects sometimes just take a little longer to get comfortable in the majors. The Tigers are also still very much in rebuilding mode, so they should have plenty of playing time available for Torkelson. If he gets off to a better start in his second season, he could hit his stride and never look back.
Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, climbed through the three highest levels of the minors in his first pro season and has made the Tigers' Opening Day roster to begin the 2022 campaign. All told, he hit .267/.383/.552 with 30 home runs, a 21.5 K% and a 14.5 BB% in 121 games, with his production getting slightly worse as he moved up the ladder. To cap things off, he hit .450 with eight walks and five strikeouts in seven Arizona Fall League games before a sprained ankle ended his run there. He excels at getting the ball in the air, logging groundball rates below 36% at every stop. For now, it seems Torkelson will be power over hit and better in OBP leagues than AVG leagues, but we're working with just one year's worth of data. Torkelson split time between first base and third base at High-A and Double-A, but he played first base exclusively at Triple-A, and that's his presumptive home in the majors. Seen as one of the best college hitters of the past couple decades, the Arizona State product hasn't notably increased or decreased his stock since entering pro ball, but he's expected to be the primary option at first for Detroit this year.
Perhaps the biggest question with last year's No. 1 overall pick is which position he will end up at. Torkelson has been labeled a generational college hitter by many evaluators -- one who projects to hit for big-time power with at least a plus hit tool. He has yet to play in an official minor-league game, but nothing about his offensive profile has changed since the draft, and he got plenty of quality reps at the alternate site and in fall instructs. However, in a surprising move, the Tigers have developed him strictly as a third baseman after Torkelson played first base exclusively at Arizona State. He says the transition has gone well and he expects to be able to handle the hot corner with more reps. There may be years where he is eligible at both corner-infield spots, but short of that, it doesn't really matter for fantasy. He could debut as early as this summer if he performs as expected.
More Fantasy News
Goes deep in loss
1BDetroit Tigers
May 4, 2025
Torkelson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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First day off Wednesday
1BDetroit Tigers
April 30, 2025
Torkelson is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Houston.
ANALYSIS
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Power surge continues Saturday
1BDetroit Tigers
April 27, 2025
Torkelson went 2-for-8 with a double, a home run and three RBI across both games of Saturday's doubleheader with the Orioles.
ANALYSIS
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Blasts off again Saturday
1BDetroit Tigers
April 20, 2025
Torkelson went 1-for-3 with a walk and a three-run home run in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Royals.
ANALYSIS
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Drives in three runs
1BDetroit Tigers
April 17, 2025
Torkelson went 2-for-4 with one walk, one double and three RBI in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Royals.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Garnering interest from Mets
1BDetroit Tigers
January 24, 2025
The Mets are considering a trade for Torkelson, Pat Ragazzo of SI.com reports.
ANALYSIS
If the Mets don't re-sign from Pete Alonso, which seems likely at this point, it's been speculated that Mark Vientos would move across the diamond to take over at first base. However, acquiring Torkelson would allow Vientos to remain at the hot corner. Torkelson slashed only .219/.295/.374 over 92 regular-season games in 2024, and he even got demoted to the minors in June before returning to Detroit in August. However, the first overall pick in the 2020 Draft did slug 31 home runs in 2023 and comes with four years of team control remaining. Currently, Torkelson isn't projected to have a starting job at first base or DH, so the Tigers would likely be open to moving him.
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