MLB Draft Day- ASU's Spencer Torkelson
First basemen typically do not go first overall in the MLB Draft. No college first baseman and no right-handed-hitting first baseman has ever gone with the first pick in the draft. There has only been one pure first baseman taken in the MLB Draft since it began way back in 1965 and that was back in 2000 when the Marlins selected Adrian Gonzalez. Well, it’s 2020 and so far anything can and has happened so this should be a no brainer that Spencer Torkelson will go first overall.
If chosen first over all that would mean he would be going to the Detroit Tigers and they desperately need offensive help. I have spoke with many scouts about Torkelson and they rave about his plus power and bat speed. All unanimously agree too that his defense is underrated, but it is all about the power with Torks. In 129 games at Arizona State the first baseman hit 54 home runs.
And according to my friends over at MLB Pipeline, “He controls at-bats extremely well and draws a ton of walks, He's able to drive the ball from foul pole to foul pole and he uses the middle of the field when he's at his best. He's able to hit the ball out to all fields, with tremendous loft power to his pull side. He doesn't sell out for that power, but gets to it with ease.”
Not to mention the 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, first baseman broke Barry Bonds college home run record. According to ESPN, they consider him to be “the safest pick” in the MLB Draft. What a year 2020 is shaping up to be, where the “safest pick” is a pick that usually doesn’t happen, a first baseman.