When Kerry Carpenter learned of his big-league arrival, Spencer Torkelson was on his way out of Triple-A Toledo’s clubhouse. Torkelson, minor-league dinner in hand, embraced him, patted him on the back and kept walking toward the exit.
Before the season ends, the Detroit Tigers hope to give the 2020 No. 1 overall pick an MLB return. The Tigers sent Torkelson down just before the All-Star break, but he hasn’t bounced back in Toledo.
Torkelson, who turned 23 on Friday and celebrated with a walk-off single, is batting .229 with six doubles, four home runs, 15 RBIs, 20 walks and 39 strikeouts in 31 games for the Mud Hens — a .341 on-base percentage and a .381 slugging percentage for a .722 OPS. Those numbers profile Torkelson as a slightly below-average Triple-A hitter.
“I don’t think he’s in a rut in Triple-A,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I think he’s in a rut in 2022.”
More:Eminem and Snoop Dogg join up for new song, video saluting Detroit and Long Beach
SHAWN WINDSOR:Swift & Grossman show why one Detroit team has hope — and the other is the Tigers
2023 SCHEDULE:Opening Day on March 30 at Tampa Bay Rays, plus more on next season
The Tigers instructed Torkelson to take the demotion as a fresh start.
That didn’t work.
“It’s impossible for these players not to carry the baggage with them,” said Hinch, who bounced between Triple-A and MLB during his playing days. “When we say we want them to let everything go and just be yourself — in reality, the numbers don’t lie. The numbers are reminding you every day. Now, he has been better in the last couple of weeks.”
To Hinch’s point, though, Torkelson has been better recently. Since Aug. 16, he is batting .353 with four doubles, seven walks and 11 strikeouts in nine games. Torkelson pulled a breaking ball that hung at the top of the strike zone in Friday’s 10th inning for a walk-off single. Yet Hinch is still talking about the need for adjustments in the minors — a definite red flag. The adjustment, Hinch said, is twofold.
“One, his overall understanding of who he is as a hitter, what he has to do and what key adjustments are there for him to untap his ability,” Hinch said. “The second is the belief that he can do that at this level. I think he does believe he can do it at this level, but the success didn’t come with him early on.”
Torkelson struggled through 83 games with the Tigers, and, if not for his rock-solid defense, probably would have been sent down sooner. He batted .197 with 11 doubles and five home runs en route to a .577 OPS.
He approached each at-bat with the mindset of sitting on fastballs and adjusting to everything else. But Torkelson couldn’t hit high-velocity fastballs in the strike zone, even the ones over the heart of the plate. His timing, a product of his mechanics, appeared inconsistent. He didn’t adjust in the big leagues, and his 70 wRC+ ranked 152nd among 157 qualified hitters on July 17, the day of his demotion.
WHEN IT HAPPENED:Why Tigers had no choice but to demote 2020 No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson
Hinch provided perspective on approach and mechanics.
“Adjustments are key, approach and mechanics,” Hinch said. “It’s all of the above. At the end of the day, we don’t care what the swing looks like, and what it’s supposed to look like, if you produce the results that you want. You don’t have to take a pretty swing every time to be productive here. You do have to game plan, you do have to have an approach that is consistent, and then you got to make adjustments at this level.
“They’re going to continue to throw you pitches. If you chase, you’re going to get balls outside the strike zone. If you’re underneath, you’re going to get balls up. If you pound the ball on the ground, you’re going to get a ton of balls below the zone. Advance scouting is at an all-time elite level, so as a hitter, you’ve got to have a puncher’s chance to adjust to the game plan as the season goes.”
The Tigers drafted Torkelson with the top pick in 2020 out of Arizona State hoping he would become an elite player, so the franchise — amid the process of hiring a new general manager — is counting on him to adjust and start crushing fastballs. After all, the final step of his ascension to the majors can only happen at the highest level, where many pitchers pump mid-90s heat.
He could get another chance soon.
“It was a tough conversation,” Torkelson said July 22, soon after his demotion. “But I know it’s a results-oriented business, and I wasn’t producing. I knew I had to come down here, make some adjustments, get right, and then, you know, figure some things out, and then I’ll be back up there contributing to wins.”
VISITING TORK:How Spencer Torkelson is trying to put the pieces together and return to Tigers
FROM DETROIT TO ATLANTA:Robbie Grossman’s post-trade surge shows what Tigers need in new GM
The organization will have two more roster spots — one pitcher and one hitter — in September as rosters expand. Michael Pineda, who’s rehabbing from triceps tightness, is lined up as the incoming pitcher, and Torkelson is a candidate as the hitter. Hinch, for one, wants him back, but he stressed the opportunity must be earned.
“We’d like him to come back,” Hinch said. “Our goal when we sent him down was for him to come back. He’s got to be trending in the right direction. He’s got to be doing the things we expect. … I do hope that we give him another opportunity to finish the season where he started, and quite honestly where he belongs, long-term.”
Other players are trying to prove they belong, too, especially the three rookie hitters in Detroit: Carpenter, Kody Clemens and Riley Greene.
Carpenter hasn’t been hot for the Tigers since his Aug. 10 debut, though he has two home runs — on back-to-back days in Cleveland more than a week ago — across 10 games. He hit 30 homers in 97 minor-league games before that. Clemens was on fire in Triple-A before he came up, but he’s batting .151 in the big leagues. Greene, the No. 5 overall pick in 2019, wasn’t at his best in Toledo coming off foot surgery, but what’s different about him is he has adjusted since his June 18 debut for the Tigers. Coming off a long slump, he is 10-for-20 with two home runs, two walks and four strikeouts over his past five games.
“If you learn anything around the league — this isn’t Tigers-specific — the leap is pretty big,” Hinch said. “We have big-time performers in Triple-A that came up here and have a really rough first month. Tork had a rough couple of months. Other guys don’t. Other guys are adjusting a little faster. Right now, we’re just trying to figure out short-term, long-term and what’s best for him and the organization.”
The 2022 Tigers haven’t had a position player emerge from the minors and immediately establish themselves. Next on the list is 24-year-old infielder Ryan Kreidler. The Tigers are having internal conversations about whether to promote him to Detroit or keep him in Toledo for the rest of the season.
Kreidler became a player to watch in 2021, batting .256 in 88 games for Double-A Erie and .304 in 41 games for Triple-A Toledo. He launched 15 of his 22 homers for the Mud Hens, walked 24 times and struck out 39 times.
GM SEARCH: Jason McLeod, Dana Brown, other possible candidates to lead organization
EVALUATING THE TIGERS:Positives, negatives new general manager must handle
In 2022, however, Kreidler is batting .215 with eight homers, 34 walks and 71 strikeouts in 52 games for Toledo. He has played 21 games in August, his first full month since May due to injuries, and is batting .200 with two homers, 18 walks and 33 strikeouts.
“I hate to tell the guy not to strike out because touching it doesn’t necessarily get you to the big leagues either, if you don’t do it with some force,” Hinch said. “But he just missed so much time.”
The Tigers planned to promote Kreidler this season, then he fractured a bone in his right hand April 26. He returned a month later only to suffer a groin strain and miss another month. Kreidler has been playing full-time since July 22.
“The big debate with Ryan is just needing to play and play and play,” Hinch said. “He’s somebody we look forward to getting at this level at some point, but he’s missed so much time. It’s tricky on when to make that call and bring him up here.”
The numbers — specifically the strikeouts — aren’t helping Kreidler’s case for a 2022 MLB debut. Torkelson’s argument has the same hole.
It’s unclear if either will be around Comerica Park in September.
Ultimately, both players have given the Tigers more questions than answers when looking to the future.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.