COMSTOCK PARK — Pressure can either create diamonds or crush whatever stands in its way.
Spencer Torkelson, the first overall pick of the 2020 MLB draft, knows that all too well. The Tigers sent him to Grand Rapids to start his pro career with the West Michigan Whitecaps. During the first road trip of the season, he couldn’t quite find a groove, earning just three hits in five games.
He knows being the first selection in the draft comes with a lot of expectations from fans and media alike. But he doesn’t concern himself with all that. He said he has to be able to block out all the chatter from people on the other side of the clubhouse. If he couldn’t, he’d drive himself crazy.
“I don’t really hear the outside noise, the only noise I hear is myself beating myself up,” Torkelson said. “Anyone’s expectations don’t really get to me, I have my own expectations of being myself and sometimes I do get away from myself, but you just have to lock it back in and focus on the day.”
The former Arizona State star struggled a bit in his first few games, with nine strikeouts over the first three nights of the season. But on Saturday, he got the first multi-hit game of his career and said that now the game is starting to slow down a bit for him.
“That happens, and I pride myself on not striking out and putting together good at-bats, so I was a little upset with myself then,” Torkelson said. “That just goes down to being myself and not trying to do too much at the plate, you could say I’ve slowed it down more and got back to my approach that works.”
Subscribe: Receive 6 months of all-access to The Sentinel’s award-winning digital coverage for $1
In the Whitecaps’ home opener Tuesday night, he went 0-3 and drew a walk in a 9-1 loss to the Great Lakes Loons. Though he did make hard contact on one of his at-bats and looked comfortable at the plate each time he stepped into the box.
His manager, Brayan Pena, who had a stint with the Tigers back in 2013, said that even though the results aren’t there yet, he has what it takes. He just needs a bit more experience at this level.
“It’s going to be like that, God blessed him with a great talent and we believe he just has to go out there and get some at-bats,” Pena said. “He’s going to have to figure out how the league is pitching to him, he’s going to have to make adjustments and that’s exactly what he did [over the weekend].”
Regardless of his performance Tuesday, he said he was pumped to play in front of a crowd again. About 2,000 fans journeyed to LMCU Ballpark to get a glimpse of the highly-touted prospect in his first home game. It was the first time West Michigan fans have been able to see the Whitecaps play in nearly 650 days.
He’s happy the Tigers organization put him in West Michigan. Even in his brief time here, he said he can tell Whitecaps fans are invested in him, and the rest of the team, not just for now but in the long run too. Where many of his friends have been drafted into communities across the nation, he’s playing just two hours away from the MLB franchise that drafted him.
“It’s really cool, you see people around the town they’re all big Whitecaps fans and they’re all pulling for you,” Torkelson said. “It’s nice to have a really loyal fan base that truly cares about not only your ability but you as people too. I’m really fortunate to be in West Michigan and I know a lot of the guys feel the same way.”
The 21-year-old said the transition to the pro game hasn’t been all that different from what he expected coming into it. He was able to get in some live at-bats at the Tigers’ alternate training site last season after the minor-league season was nixed due to the pandemic.
He also said his time in the Pac-12, an elite college baseball conference, prepared him for a high level of competition. Though there were a few differences he still has to get used to.
“I think maybe guys are a little more consistent with their pitches, they throw a couple more offspeed pitches for strikes and they can spot up the fastball more often,” Torkelson said. “It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, people are going to make mistakes and you just got to be ready to hit them.”
He’ll make his own mistakes now and then, as is the nature of the game. He’s well aware of that. But he said he’s just focused on coming to work each day, with no grand goals or stats he wants to reach in his mind. He just wants to get better.
But in the mind of his manager, and higher-ups in the Detroit organization, they know he has the potential to bring to the big-league level. That’s what they’ll be working on in West Michigan. It’s all part of a bigger process for him to box out the pressure and become the best player he can.
“We are preparing him not to be the MVP of the Central League, we’re preparing him to be the MVP at the highest level,” Pena said. “That’s exactly what we want, we want him to be ready to go to Detroit and help us win the World Series.”
—Contact Assistant Sports Editor Will Kennedy at Will.Kennedy@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByWillKennedy and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.