Through 24 games, the Tigers rank last in the majors in OBP, OPS and strikeout rate. They rank second to last in batting average and runs per game. They are not a very good hitting team.
They do have some good hitters in the system.
Spencer Torkelson, the first overall pick in 2020 and the No. 3 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, will begin this season with High-A West Michigan. Riley Greene, the fifth overall pick in 2019 and the No. 18 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, will begin this season with Double-A Erie.
There's a chance we see Greene in Detroit by the end of the summer. Torkelson's ceiling feels like Double-A. But if you ask former Reds and Nationals GM and one-time MLB Executive of the Year Jim Bowden, Torkelson's bat is ready for the majors right now.
"Offensively, his bat and power are more than major-league ready; I believe he'd be the best hitter on the Tigers this season if they promoted him," Bowden wrote for The Athletic in a ranking of the 'must-watch' prospects in the minors this season. "He will hit for average and be a 30-homer, 100-RBI, middle-of-the-order impact bat for years to come in the Motor City."
OK. No issues with the latter projection. None at all! But as poorly as the Tigers have swung the bats this season, let's not forget Torkelson just went 1-27 with 16 strikeouts in spring training. And let's not forget he's yet to take a competitive at-bat in the minors, much less the majors. If he'd be the best hitter on a team aching for more hitters, he probably wouldn't be starting the year in West Michigan.
Bowden adds that Torkelson's "best long-term position is first base, but the Tigers have decided to develop him as a third baseman, which will probably delay his promotion to the majors as he adjusts to the hot corner."
And let's be honest. The Tigers are in no rush to burn a year of control on Torkelson's contract with their rebuild still nowhere near completion. But at least we have those 30-HR, 100-RBI seasons to look forward to.
As for Greene, Bowden praised his "tremendous bat speed" and the way he "consistently makes sweet-spot contact." He projects Greene as a 25-to-30 homer hitter in the majors.
