Spencer Torkelson did something odd on the first pitch he saw Saturday against the Rockies: he swung. Normally, Torkelson works the count. He waits for a pitch he can drive. In this case, he'd already found one. It was a fastball up in the zone from right-hander Antonio Senzatela and Torkelson smacked it over the right-field fence at Comerica Park for his third homer of the season.
A 22-year-old rookie, Torkelson already looks like one of the smartest hitters in Detroit's lineup. He knows the zone. And though he doesn't yet know the pitchers at this level, he has such faith in his talent -- in his hands, in his eyes, in his approach -- that he's comfortable taking them deep into counts. He only jumps at pitches if he likes them. Like the one Saturday from Senzatela.
"For 98 percent of the pitchers you face, you gotta stay on the fastball unless they show you otherwise, but I haven’t faced these guys enough to where I can have an individual approach against them," Torkelson said Saturday. "So I’m always hunting the fastball and good enough to adjust to off-speed when it’s a good pitch to hit."
There is a humility to Torkelson. There is also a supremely quiet confidence. Two weeks into his big-league career, he's attacking the best pitchers in the world like a seasoned vet. The hits have yet to come in bunches, but he entered Sunday's game with an OPS over .800 and the sixth highest walk rate in the American League. He also leads the Tigers in homers and RBI.
"I’m seeing the ball well," he said. "My approach has always been selective aggressive. I’m OK with taking a strike close to the edge if I feel like I can't do damage on it, if it’s not strike three obviously. I’m really up there hunting good pitches to hit, which tends to work out, and I can spit off some good pitches."
There's that confidence again. Of Torkelson's 51 plate appearances entering Sunday, just eight had lasted fewer than three pitches. And here's how they had ended: homer, homer, homer, double, single, single, line out, ground out. That's what it means to hunt. It recalls something Miguel Cabrera told Nick Castellanos during Castellanos' breakout season with the Tigers: "Look, you’ve got your swing. Now only swing if you can hit it over the fence."
Good hitters tend to see lots of pitches. The longer a pitcher has to work, the likelier he is to make a mistake. Mistakes lead to damage. This is why it's so promising that Torkelson already ranks among the top 20 hitters in the AL in pitches per plate appearance (4.20). He entered Sunday's game sandwiched between Jose Ramirez (4.18) and Alex Bregman (4.21). MLB's top 10 hitters in pitches per plate appearance last season averaged 25 homers, an .805 OPS and an offensive WAR of 3.48.
Torkelson's composure at the plate is uncommon for a rookie. (It's uncommon, period!) The top rookie in pitches per plate appearance last season was Randy Arozarena (4.12), who also happened to win AL Rookie of the Year. At his current pace, Torkelson would have ranked seventh in the AL, sandwiched between Giancarlo Stanton (4.19) and Aaron Judge (4.21). It's early -- so, so early -- but this is heady stuff.
"He’s very comfortable," A.J. Hinch said Saturday. "He sees the ball well. He's not afraid to extend an at-bat a little bit deeper. It’s rare for a young guy, and I hope he stays that comfortable and doesn’t start chasing hits or homers. He knows a strike and a ball, and borderline pitches that he can’t drive he’s laying off. The command of the strike zone, the control of the at-bat, the comfort hitting deeper in a count seems to be there. We like him for a lot of reasons, and that’s one of them."
A prolonged slump can always change things, but Torkelson doesn't seem like a hitter who will lose his cool. There isn't a jumpy bone in his body. If there's a panic button in his brain, we haven't seen him use it -- and he's had plenty of chances to do so over his first season-plus as a pro. It's early -- so, so early -- but Torkelson looks the part in The Show.
"I trust my hands," he said, "and I trust my approach."