Former 1st Overall Pick To Serve As Tigers Starting First Baseman This Season

Getting another shot.

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said on Thursday that prospect Spencer Torkelson is likely to serve as the team's starting first baseman this season.

Sounds like Spencer Torkelson will get every opportunity to earn regular role at 1B for Tigers. He's meeting with Tigers hitting coaches in Arizona this week.

Hinch: "We have other options if we need to, but clearly our best team has Spencer Torkelson as a major contributor."

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) January 19, 2023

Torkelson will get another chance to earn the starting job at first base during spring training and, given the lack of talented depth the Tigers have at the position, he should have a pretty good shot at winning that role. 

The twenty-three-year-old had a brutal start to his major league career, posting a .203/.285/.319 triple-slash line, with eight home runs, 28 RBIs and 38 runs scored over 110 games.

He was eventually demoted to Triple-A Toledo in mid-July, where he didn't fare much better, slashing an underwhelming .229/.348/.737 line, with five home runs, 18 RBIs, one stolen base and 18 runs scored over 131 at-bats. 

It's much too early to be calling Torkelson a bust, despite his rough start. He has all the tools to blossom into a very good player at the major league level but, regardless, his development will be interesting to watch play out.
Photo Credit:  Lindsey Wasson-USA TODAY Sports