Shocking Comeback for Detroit Tigers Slugger Has Dramatically Raised Ceiling

The Detroit Tigers have gotten some absolutely incredible play from their former top prospect who looked like a bust.

Detroit Tigers first base Spencer Torkelson (20) celebrates in the dugout after he bats a solo home run against Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, April 5, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers are absolutely rolling having won four games in a row and six out of seven since the opening series sweep against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Handling the New York Yankees with ease in the Motor City blizzard on Monday afternoon, it has been an incredible heel turn after what was a brutal beginning to the season on the West Coast.

While the Tigers have gotten incredible performances from numerous players, but there's one in particular who has stood above the rest in terms of raising their personal level of play.

Entering the spring, former No. 1 overall selection and top prospect Spencer Torkelson was fighting not just for a spot on the roster, but fighting for his career.

Now nearly two weeks into the season, Torkelson has been arguably the team's most important player with a level of play on both sides of the ball Detroit had yet to see up to this point in his time with the team.

In what was perhaps his biggest moment in a Tigers uniform so far, Torkelson delivered a ripped walk-off double on Sunday afternoon to earn the sweep over the Chicago White Sox and put Detroit in a place where it looks like they could be a force to be reckoned with in the American League.

It was more than just that however, it was a symbolic moment that indicated Torkelson has come all the way back from the depths of Major League Baseball just last season.

Over the first 10 games of his season, Torkelson has slashed .289/.400/.533 with two home runs and six RBI, really looking like an entirely new player.

A player who was once feast or famine and too often the victim of brutal strikeouts suddenly has a disciplined eye and is selective with his swings.

Someone with a negative defensive runs saved career figure has all of the sudden come in this year and looked like a Gold Glover at first.

Torkelson's comeback is more than just huge for his own personal career, it's massive for the potential of this Detroit team.

All offseason long, the gripe was that they needed a right-handed power bat to balance out a lefty-heavy lineup and give the team some versatility with how they configure themselves.

As it turned out, they had that dangerous right-handed bat in the organization the whole time, he just had not emerged yet.

It's still early, but so far this season Torkelson has done just that and more, looking every game more like the slugger they selected with the first pick just five years ago.

If Torkelson can keep it up, not only will he have turned the entire trajectory of his career around, he will dramatically raise the ceiling for his team as well.