2 weeks Ago
The Detroit Tigers are proving that they belong in the contender conversation through the early part this season and have two players that many fans wrote off to thank. The Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals by a score of 3-1 on Saturday off the backs of Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize. The two former first overall picks had far from lived up to that billing in the last few years, but are finally playing at an elite level.
Torkelson drove in all three runs and Mize delivered seven innings of beautiful baseball to keep the Royals offense at bay. Detroit manager A.J.
Hinch gave the two players their flowers after the game , acknowledging the tough road they took to get there. "They were the guys the fans were waiting on, that the organization was waiting on. It hasn't been an easy road for either one of them.
So to see them both now carry us is a great testament to what they've had to endure," said Hinch. "There's areas both of them can get better. But this has been a rewarding path to date to now look at them, do exactly what everyone has hoped they would do and they deserve all the credit.
" Both players were on bottom of the totem pole entering the year, but Torkelson was a bit more troubled. The 25-year-old had lost his starting job before the season when Gleyber Torres was signed. Colt Keith was slid over to first base and Torkelson was considered trade bait.
Over his first three campaigns, Torkelson had slashed just .221/.300/.
392 with an average of 16 home runs. He wasn't drawing walks at a great rate and was striking out over a quarter of the time. He flashed potential back in 2023 with a 31 home run campaign, but was far from consistent.
It got so bad in 2024 that he was bouncing between the Majors and the minors. Torkelson hit his seventh home run of the year on Saturday, bringing him up to 21 RBI on the season. His slash line is .
289/.391/.658.
It did not take long for him to get first base back from Keith. Mize had already made some positive progress last year, but has taken his game up another level. He finally looks truly worthy that first overall selection.
The 27-year-old's ERA is down to 2.22 on the year and it is not just luck. He is delivering on every level .
One of the big reasons that he is playing better this year is a major improvement on his splitter. He has also introduced a cutter that is working very well. He took the knuckle-curve out of his arsenal, which was one of his worst offerings in years past.
Both players are red-hot to start the year and both look like their new selves could not just be a streak. If they can keep this up, the Tigers will have themselves two new stars. Recommended Articles.
