The Detroit Tigers may make an out of the norm pick with the first selection in the 2020 MLB draft: a first baseman. Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson is regarded not just as the top talent in the draft, but as the safest pick.
Torkelson crushed 48 home runs his first two seasons at ASU. Prior to the stoppage of play, he was off to a great start this year. The basemen was hitting .340 with six home runs in 50 at-bats, despite seeing few pitches in the strike zone.
Adrian Gonzalez was selected by the Marlins in 2000. No college first baseman and no right-handed-hitting first baseman has ever gone with the first pick, so Torkelson is aiming for a unique spot in draft history.
No one seems entirely certain that the Tigers will select him, but it’s worth noting the scouting director who drafted Gonzalez for the Marlins was Al Avila. Detroit’s general manager is Al Avila.
Torkelson attended Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, California. He played baseball, football and basketball in high school. During his high school baseball career, he hit .430 with 11 home runs and 99 runs batted in (RBI).
As a freshman at Arizona State, Torkelson batted .320/.440/.743 with 25 home runs and 53 RBI over 55 games. The 25 home runs led the nation, set a Pac-12 record for home runs by a freshman and also broke Barry Bonds school record for home runs by a freshman.
He was named the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman of the Year, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Freshman Hitter of the Year and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
After the season, he played for the United States collegiate national team. As a sophomore, Torkelson joined Bob Horner as the only Arizona State players to hit 20 home runs for consecutive seasons.
After the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
As a junior, Torkelson hit six home runs in a COVID-19 shortened season giving him 53 for his ASU career, him just three shy of ASU’s career record.
Torkelson is the odds-on favorite to go no. 1 overall. If Torkelson is the guy, we’ll see history. If the selection is made, Detroit will be hoping they landed the next Paul Goldschmidt or Pete Alonso. We’ll keep you posted.
This article cites information from NBC Sports, ESPN and the AP. For more sports, news and entertainment follow the Midwest Sports Network on Twitter @MWSNsports or like our page on Facebook.
