Arizona State phenom Spencer Torkelson is now officially a member of the Detroit Tigers, having been selected by the team with the 1st overall pick in tonight’s MLB Draft.
According to GM Al Avila, the goal is to have Torkelson play third base for the team, despite having played first base during his collegiate career.
Check out what ESPN draft experts had to say about the pick:
Kiley McDaniel:
“There’s a lot of guys in the minors, a lot of guys in this draft, with this type of raw power. The difference is he’s an underrated athlete. He can play left and right field. As we heard, he’s going to probably play some third base, similar to Vlad (Guerrero) Jr. The difference is the hit and pitch selection is the thing that separates him from (those) with big power that hit .230 and strikes out too much.”
Eduardo Perez:
The bat works, and that’s one thing that we love about Spencer Torkelson, and the Detroit Tigers also. Quick hands, through the zone, drives horizontally before he even spins on the baseball. This is a guy that uses his entire leverage, but his hands are so strong that he’s able to stay up the middle on the field, and he knows that he can drive the baseball from foul pole to foul pole. This is a perfect pick, a guy that played high school baseball as a third baseman and now understands perfectly what he has to do at the pro level.”
Chris Burke, ESPN analyst:
“That’s the only surprise here with Torkelson, not necessarily that he’s going No. 1, but that they announced him as a third baseman. He played this summer for Dan McDonald, a coach here at the University of Louisville. McDonald is known as an infield guy, so Major League Baseball takes a lot away in his evaluation. McDonald came away from that summer raving about Torkelson’s feet, his ability to transfer the baseball quickly on double-play turns and his throwing accuracy. He told scouts, when they left that summer, that not only is he potentially an elite first baseman, but he thinks he can play third, so you know you have big-time power but also defensive versatility.”
– – Quotes via Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
