Daily updates on Spencer Torkelson from July

Keeping tabs on the No. 3 overall prospect

July 31st, 2021

July 31: Smashes 15th homer of the year
Spencer Torkelson is really starting to heat up, as he reached base three times for Double-A Erie on Saturday. He went 2-for-4 with two singles, a walk and an RBI in the SeaWolves loss. Torkelson has reached base three times in three of the past four games, and in the the game he didn't, he swatted a home run and scored twice. He now has a .250 average in Double-A with a .906 OPS. Gameday »

July 30: Smashes 15th homer of the year
Spencer Torkelson had two extra-base hits Friday night, as the No. 3 overall prospect swatted his 15th homer of the season and a ninth-inning double. The homer was his 10th with Double-A Erie. He ended the night 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and that was good enough for half of the SeaWolves' hits. Torkelson is now hitting .242 after his Double-A average dipped to .216 on Wednesday. Gameday »

July 29: Three hits in shutout loss
Spencer Torkelson was the lone bright spot in the Double-A Erie lineup on Thursday, going 3-for-4 in their shutout loss against Akron. Torkelson had been struggling in the box lately with four hitless games in his last five, but his luck may be turning following the three-hit performance. He raised his Double-A average from .216 to .233. Gameday »

July 28: No hits, but three walks
Spencer Torkelson went hitless in two at-bats Wednesday and now has one hit in his past 17 at-bats for Double-A Erie. The good news amid the slump is that Torkelson's strike-zone discipline has remained strong. The Tigers' top prospect walked three times, giving him 46 for the season and 22 with the SeaWolves. Although he is hitting just .216 at Erie, the walks have helped Torkelson post a respectable .345 on-base percentage. His OBP for the year, .392, is especially impressive. Gameday »

July 27: Strikes out three times in hitless performance
Spencer Torkelson struck out three times in his five trips to the plate on Tuesday, going hitless for the third time in four games. He managed to work a walk, but that would be the only time he'd reach in the 0-for-4 performance. Torkelson has hit for power with Double-A Erie so far, but hits still seem to be a bit elusive for the 2020 No.1 Draft pick, as he is hitting .219 for the SeaWolves. Gameday »

July 25: Picks up 3 more RBIs
A double and two sacrifice flies helped Spencer Torkelson record three RBIs during Sunday's win for Double-A Erie. The No. 3 prospect in baseball opened up the scoring with a sac fly in the first inning. His RBI double broke a 4-4 tie in the fifth inning and he added to the SeaWolves' lead with another run-scoring out in the sixth. Torkelson is hitting just .227 at Double-A, but 15 of his 25 hits have gone for extra bases and he has 24 RBIs in 33 games. Gameday »

July 24: Drives in run in hitless game
Spencer Torkelson couldn't find grass on Saturday, but he still found a way to impact the game in Double-A Erie's marathon 14-13 loss against Binghamton. Torkelson drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and scored a run after working a walk. He went 0-for-4 in his other plate appearances. Gameday »

July 23: Hitless in shutout
After a monster performance on Thursday, Spencer Torkelson couldn't repeat it on Friday, going 0-for-4 for Double-A Erie. The Binghamton pitching staff held the SeaWolves to just one hit in the first eight innings until they broke through in the ninth, where Torkelson did not come up to bat. Gameday »

July 22: Slams homer, reaches base four times in loss
Spencer Torkelson filled up the stat sheet with a huge performance on Thursday night, smashing a two-run homer and reaching base four times in Double-A Erie's 6-4 loss to Binghamton. Torkelson provided most of the offense for the SeaWolves, adding an RBI double to his homer to give him three of Erie's four RBIs on the night. All of his RBIs came with two outs as well. MLB Pipeline's No. 3 overall prospect went 2-for-2 at the plate, reaching in his other two plate appearances via a walk and hit-by-pitch. Torkelson now has 14 homers on the year, nine at the Double-A level, 16 doubles and 48 RBIs. Despite hitting .242, Torkelson has a .932 OPS, which would rank in the top five in the Double-A Northeast if qualified. Gameday »

July 21: Difficult day following big game
When it rains, it pours. One night after homering and helping out with the tarp, Tigers top prospect Spencer Torkelson slid back into a slump with an 0-for-4 performance which featured a strikeout, a throwing error and a hit by pitch. Gameday »

July 20: Slaps homer and double to break slump
Spencer Torkelson made sure his hitless streak ended at four games on Tuesday, launching a solo homer and slapping a double for Double-A Erie. The solo shot was Torkelson's eighth home run at the Double-A level and his 13th across all levels. He went 2-for-5 with two runs scored on the day. His average has dropped down to .235 with Erie, but he's still hitting the ball hard and getting on base frequently, as evidenced by his .889 OPS. Gameday »

July 18: Hitless in second straight doubleheader
Spencer Torkelson went hitless in Double-A Erie's doubleheader with Bowie, marking the second straight doubleheader he has failed to record a hit. Torkelson went 0-for-3 in both games, walking in the second, and is now hitless in his past four. Torkelson went 1-for-17 in the SeaWolves' six-game set with the Baysox. Gameday (Game 1) » | Gameday (Game 2) »

July 16: Hitless in doubleheader
Spencer Torkelson couldn't get it going with the bat in Double-A Erie's doubleheader with Bowie on Friday, going 0-for-5 on the day. Torkelson went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in the first game and 0-for-3 in the second. He has two hits over his past 13 at-bats, but one of those hits is a two-run homer. Gameday (Game 1) » | Gameday (Game 2) »

July 14: Drives in run in loss
Spencer Torkelson drove in a run on a sixth-inning single, but his efforts couldn't lift Double-A Erie over Bowie in a 4-2 loss. Torkelson went 1-for-3, adding a walk to his RBI single. Most thought the series between Torkelson and MLB's No. 2 prospect Adley Rutschman would be a slugfest, but the two have gone a combined 1-for-13 in the first two games. Gameday »

July 13: Hitless in showdown with Adley Rutschman
Everyone expected it to be a great showdown between Spencer Torkelson and Adley Rutschman on Tuesday night, but Tigers' No. 2 prospect Riley Greene stole the show for Double-A Erie. Greene drove in four runs on a triple and a homer, while Torkelson went 0-for-3 with a walk. Rutschman also went hitless (0-for-4), but both will get another opportunity to put on a show Wednesday night. Gameday »

July 11: Singles and walks in All-Star Futures Game
As American League manager LaTroy Hawkins swapped out most of his starting lineup in Sunday's All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field, two of the three prospects who endured to the very end were the Tigers' core of the future -- Torkelson and No. 2 prospect Riley Greene -- and they were pivotal in the AL's three-run rally in the seventh to avoid a shutout.

After drawing a fifth-inning walk, Torkelson, who manned the hot corner for all seven innings, followed Greene's seventh-inning single with a grounder through the left side, setting up a pair of run-scoring hits from Jeter Downs and Austin Martin.

"I'm just here to be myself," Torkelson said before the game. "Whatever happens, happens. It's a great experience either way. I'm really lucky to be here."

Between Torkelson and Greene, Tigers prospects collected the AL's first three hits of the game and scored two of the three runs for the Junior Circuit.

"Me and Tork have grown pretty close over the years," Greene said. "When he got drafted, I was the one he texted, just because I was a young guy, too. We've built a pretty good friendship there, and being able to be teammates on the same Double-A team and then come here and hit right behind each other, it's pretty cool."

July 9: Smacks two-run homer in doubleheader
Spencer Torkelson saved his bat for the second leg of Friday's doubleheader, smashing a two-run homer in his first at-bat. It was his seventh home run at the Double-A level. MLB Pipeline's No. 3 overall prospect went 1-for-2 in the rain-shortened Game 2, adding a walk to his homer. Unfortunately for Torkelson, though, he snapped his 18-game on-base streak in the first game, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Gameday (Game 1) » | Gameday (Game 2) »

July 7: Homers, doubles in doubleheader
Spencer Torkelson extended his on-base streak to 18 games with a double and a home run spread across both parts of Wednesday night's doubleheader. The Tigers top prospect has now posted a .297/.418/.577 slash line across his first 50 professional games split between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie. Gameday (Game 1) » | Gameday (Game 2) »

July 4: Launches homer to extend streak
Spencer Torkelson put on his own firework display Sunday night, hitting a rocket for his fifth home run at the Double-A level. All around, it was a very solid night for the No. 1 pick in the 2020 Draft, as he added a single and two walks to his homer and ended the night 2-for-3. MLB Pipeline's No. 3 overall prospect broke his brief hitless skid and has now reached base safely in 16 straight. Torkelson has had an up and down time in Erie so far, but his OPS now sits at a solid .934. Gameday »

July 3: Reaches twice in no-hitter
Spencer Torkelson went hitless again Saturday night, but so did the rest of his Double-A Erie teammates as the SeaWolves were no-hit by Reading. Phillies No. 3 prospect Francisco Morales tossed six innings of no-hit ball before handing the game off to the bullpen and the rest is history. Torkelson was one of five SeaWolves to reach base though, walking twice and going 0-for-2 in the contest. Those two walks extend his on-base streak to 15 games despite a three-game hitless drought. Gameday »

July 2: Walks in shortened game to extend streak
Spencer Torkelson failed to record a hit for the second night in a row, but worked a walk in Double-A Erie's seven-inning loss to Reading. The base on balls helped Torkelson extend his on-base streak to 14 games. Torkelson is hitting .255 since his call up to Double-A on June 13. Gameday »

July 1: Extends on-base streak in win
After an explosive performance on Wednesday, Spencer Torkelson had a quiet night at the dish on Thursday, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He did, however, manage to reach base via a fifth-inning walk. That extends his on-base streak to 13 games. Gameday »