This past Sunday, just after it was announced that the Detroit Tigers game against the Cleveland Guardians had been postponed due to inclement weather, news broke that rookie Spencer Torkelson had been demoted to Triple-A Toledo.
But Torkelson is not just any rookie, he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft, and expectations, whether fair or not, were high for him heading into the season.
Prior to getting sent down, Torkelson was hitting just .197 with five home runs in 83 games, while posting a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) score of -1.3, which essentially means he was playing at a level less than what a replacement player from Triple-A would play.
Mud Hens manager Lloyd McClendon explains how Spencer Torkelson will get back on track
On Friday, Spencer Torkelson was back with the Toledo Mud Hens, where he spent 40 games during the 2021 season but this time around, he has a new manager.
That manager is former Tigers hitting coach, Lloyd McClendon, who explained what it will take for Torkelson to get back on track and back to the big leagues.
“Torkelson is no different than 95% of every baseball player who has ever played the game,” McClendon said. “At some point, you are gonna struggle, and most of the time, we have to come back and get it right and come back a better person.”
“We talked a little bit today, just relax, have fun, get back to playing the game again,” McClendon said. “Don’t worry about the mechanics and all that stuff right now. Just get back to enjoying the game of baseball. He’s a good kid. He’s a strong kid mentally.”
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Torkelson said that the fact that he spent a good deal of time in Toledo in 2021 made it a “little easier” to get sent down.
“It did make it a little easier,” Torkelson said of the familiarity. “This is a great field, great facility and the coaching staff here is great, too. So it has all the tools that I’ll need to find myself again.”
“I’m working on things in the cage,” Torkelson said. “I’m just trying to be as consistent as possible. I’m putting my head down and going to work. I’m where my feet are. So right now, I’m trying to produce. I’m trying to help the Mud Hens win. In doing that, I think I’ll find my stride as a player, too.”
“It’s hard,” Torkelson said. “But I’m going to flip the script. I can make a really good thing out of this. So just gonna put my head down, work and get back up there.”
Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press noted that Spencer Torkelson plans on getting things straightened out quickly as he has decided to stay in a hotel rather than renting an apartment.
