Did the Detroit Tigers Have One of the Best First Baseman in Baseball This Year?
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The Detroit Tigers had another disappointing end to the season as they dropped the American League Divisional Series in a game-five winner-take-all matchup for the second straight season.
It is really easy to look at the negatives that come with the bitter taste of an ending like that, but there was plenty this team could get excited about.
There are issues that the Tigers will need to address in the offseason if the organization hopes to be in a different place come this time next year, but one of those issues is not their first baseman- Spencer Torkelson.
The 26-year-old just finished up his fourth season in the majors (all with Detroit) and will be with the ballclub until his free agency comes in '29. Torkelson is nearly irreplaceable on defense and has emerged as one of the best bats that the team has.
Torkelson Amongst Other First Basemen this Year
Across both the American and National Leagues, Torkelson is one of the best when out in the field. There were three players in the majors who had 100+ assists on the season: Matt Olson (145), Pete Olonso (124) and Torkelson (100). That, combined with the second-most double plays (109) and a fielding percentage of .996, he is clearly one of the elites at the base.
The California native had arguably one of his best seasons swinging a bat since joining the majors. He posted a slash line of .240/.333/.456 and finished the year with the second-most home runs (31) and RBI (78) on the Tigers' team, trailing only Riley Greene in both categories.
The Tigers spent a No. 1 overall pick on Spencer Torkelson for moments like this. He delivered. pic.twitter.com/IGJ9CgPjLj
— Sam Fosberg (@discussbaseball) October 6, 2025
His hiccup so far in his career has been when the postseason comes around. He has only played in the playoffs the last two seasons, but neither has gone well for him. His batting average dropped below .200 in both '24 (.190) and '25 (.188) with a combined 22 strikeouts in 15 games.
Torkelson was ridiculed after a rough rookie season with an OPS barely over .600, but the Tigers stuck with him and have helped him find his footing in the majors. This year his OPS was nearly .800 and he has shown that he can keep getting better.
Torkelson has emerged as one of the best weapons that the Tigers have both offensively and defensively despite how his postseason has looked. He has contributed heavily to their success over the past few years. Hopefully, he will be able to step up when October rolls around in '26 to keep their season alive.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.