ASU Baseball: Tigers Baseball Report joins AllSunDevils to Discuss Spencer Torkelson
Former ASU first baseman Spencer Torkelson made MLB history just a few months ago when he was taken first overall by the Detroit Tigers in the 2020 MLB draft. Torkelson received the biggest signing bonus in Major League Baseball history when he signed for $8,416,300. He is the number one prospect in the Tigers organization and, according to MLB Pipeline, is the number 7 overall prospect in all of baseball. According to TheSunDevils.com, Torkelson was the fourth ASU baseball player to go number 1 overall in program history. He joins Rick Monday (1965), Floyd Bannister (1976) and Bob Horner (1978).
Tork's departure from ASU leaves quite the hole in the lineup, and something ASU will have to address, but for the Tigers, it is just what they needed. In the past years, Detroit had struggled to figure it out at the plate, desperately needing offensive help, and that help came this year in the draft, and soon Tiger fans will be able to see Tork Bombs light up the outfield.
The former Devil had a 1.378 OPS in 2020, up from 1.153 in 2019 and 1.182 in his freshman year. Also, during his freshman year, he set an ASU freshman record with 25 home runs; he had 23 as a sophomore and six his junior year, which was a shortened season due to the pandemic.
While Detroit selected Torkelson as a third baseman, he is a true first baseman, and if I were a betting person, I would bet that we see Torks holding down first for the Tigers in the big leagues for years and years to come once he makes his way to the show.