Prized prospect Spencer Torkelson was recalled by the Detroit Tigers on Thursday for his second stint with the team.
Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Arizona State, struggled in his first go-around with Detroit and batted .197 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 83 games.
The Tigers sent him down to Triple-A Toledo at the All-Star break. Things didn’t go all that well with the Mud Hens as Torkelson batted just .229 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 35 games.
The 23-year-old first baseman said playing in Toledo has been a help.
“As much as I didn’t want to go down, I think in the long run, it was a good move,” Torkelson told The Detroit News. “I’m going to be better because of it. I learned a lot. Adversity makes us all better.”
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch also thinks the move will pay off long term.
“I want him to use it as a lesson learned,” Hinch said. “In all aspects, there is the success and failure portion of life. You use the failures to find whatever is next for you — what you’ve learned and how you’ve done it.
“But if you continue to harp on the bad times, you’re going to bring that into today and that’s not psychologically healthy, either. Every day is a step forward. Take the lessons and be better.”
Detroit also recalled infield prospect Ryan Kreidler from Toledo and reinstated right-hander Michael Pineda (triceps) from the 15-day injured list.
Kreidler, 24, batted .213 with eight homers and 22 RBIs in 56 games at Toledo. He was a fourth-round pick in 2019 out of UCLA.
Pineda, 33, last pitched on July 23 due to a triceps injury. He is 2-6 with a 5.27 ERA in 10 starts for Detroit this season.
–Field Level Media
