Entering his third season with the Tigers, Spencer Torkelson is the same person in a much different place: "I'm not pressing to make the team." He arrived in Lakeland this week knowing that he belongs in the middle of Detroit's lineup after he went on a summer-long power binge to close last season.
So while Torkelson still has lots to sharpen this spring, starting with his timing at the plate and his defense at first base, "I think the main thing is to develop an identity with this team of like, ‘Our identity is a World Series champion,'" he said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "Because that’s not going to happen until we feel that."
Torkelson has always had a buoyant outlook, a 24-year-old living his dream. He blocks out negativity like a pitch in the dirt. But his confidence wavered over his first season and a half in the bigs: "It’s hard to find that confidence when you’re 0 for 10, I promise." The former first overall pick was one of the worst hitters in the majors, on either side of a demotion to the minors. The criticism became too loud to ignore. The bust label became his to shake.
"You see it, you get tagged in everything, it’s difficult," he said. "But you’re one of 200 people in the world that can turn around a 100 mile-per-hour fastball for a homer and you just go out there every single day knowing you can do that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I didn’t give a lot of people something to root for. I accepted that and I just wanted to be better."
Torkelson entered June last year with 12 homers over his first 163 games in the bigs, essentially his first full season. From that point on, he hit 27 homers, third most in the American League behind MVP Shohei Ohtani (29) and MVP runner-up Corey Seager (28). He was on a 42-homer pace over his final 100 games and a 51-homer pace over his final 50. He refined his process behind the scenes, trusted his swing and tapped back into the psychology to "walk up there with some swag, knowing that that pitcher has to face you, you don’t have to face him."
Which makes you wonder what his ceiling is this season. Can Tork tank 40?
"If he goes the way he did late in the season, anything’s possible," Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg said this month. "The adjustments he made and what we saw down the stretch was really exciting. Looking for him to a be a huge driver of our offense."
Just don't ask Torkelson himself.
"Of course everyone wants to go out there and hit 40 with 110 runs batted in, but I stay away from statistical goals," he said. "I learned that as a sophomore in college (at Arizona State). I hit 25 home runs my freshman year and I was like, 'Oh wow, I’m going to get to 30.' Then I started off the year with like two homers in the first three weeks and started clicking the panic button. And I was like, why am I putting this much pressure on myself?
"So it’s just sticking to a process and showing up to the yard every single day ready to go, and whatever happens will happen based on how hard I work."
If Torkelson picks up where he left off, it also makes you wonder about the ceiling for the Tigers. He and Riley Greene headline a core of position players that's short on proof but long on promise. While Detroit did add a veteran in Mark Canha, Parker Meadows and Kerry Carpenter will team up with Greene to comprise one of the youngest outfields in the majors, and Colt Keith, the Tigers' top hitting prospect, is expected to be the Opening Day second baseman after signing a long-term contract worth up to $82 million without having spent a day in the big leagues.
"I think first thing is, you invite him to a dinner and hand him the bill," Torkelson quipped. "But no, Colt’s a great kid. I know how hard he works and gosh, his stick talks. He rakes."
There is equal intrigue in the rotation. The Tigers bring back a healthy Tarik Skubal, who was the best pitcher in baseball last season after recovering from offseason flexor tendon surgery, and should get a boost from the return of former first overall pick Casey Mize two years after he underwent Tommy John. They also added a veteran stabilizer in Kenta Maeda and a bounceback candidate in Jack Flaherty to support the young arms of Matt Manning and Reese Olson. The bullpen emerged as a strength as last season wore on.
And the AL Central is anybody's to win. The Tigers finished second last year to the Twins, whose 87 wins were the fewest in the bigs of any division winner. And they went 35-17 against their AL Central foes, tied with the Braves for the best divisional record in the majors.
"I think everyone knows we can win this division," Torkelson said. "And I don’t think it even matters what the other teams in the division are doing in the offseason. It doesn’t matter what names they have on their roster, anyone can be beat. Just going in with that mindset and definitely setting that expectation that this is our division."
It hasn't been theirs since 2014, which is also the last time the Tigers made the playoffs. Their nine-year drought is tied for the longest in the majors. If this if the season they break through, Torkelson will be one of the players leading the way.
More from Torkelson's interview on 97.1 The Ticket:
On Colt Keith: "I haven’t see him play too much in the field, I’ve never been his teammate, but he’s a really good player, really good person. And when a guy like Scott Harris, and Chris Ilitch, give someone that contract, it means they deserve it. So we know he’s deserving of it. And now we’re just going to back him up and take him out to dinners."
On the importance of a strong start: "I think we just put a little more emphasis on it. Don’t put too much pressure on it, nut it’s like, let’s get this thing rolling early. We know it’s cold, we know it’s tough, but it’s cold for everybody and we can do it. I think if you look back on previous years, especially last year, we flip that record in April and May, we got like 95 wins. So it’s just putting a little more emphasis and a little more focus on getting off to that hot start."
On if the young core feels complete: "We got a good core, but I think we’re always a work in progress. We got so many guys int his organization that can help this team win. We didn’t even talk about our arms. I feel like our rotation is going to be nasty, our bullpen is going to be nasty. And i think we have a lot bats in this lineup to where if we’re hot, it’s going to be a really good team."
On his expectations for Javy Baez: "Javy’s struggled a little bit, but so have a lot of (us). But Javy’s got a lot of pride, he’s got a lot of really good things in his game and he cares way too much to let this happen even more. I expect a lot out of Javy, I think he expects even more out of himself, so I’m really excited for Javy this year. Such a great teammate and gosh, he’s the most special baseball player I’ve ever seen in person. If he can put it all together again, it’s going to be awesome."
On the void left by Miguel Cabrera: "You definitely are going to feel that presence missing, he was such a great locker room guy. He’s going to be missed, but he’s still in the organization. He better make his rounds."