Detroit Tigers President Makes Bold Statement on Former Top Prospect

Detroit Tigers President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris made a bold statement about Spencer Torkelson.

May 19, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Detroit Tigers first base Spencer Torkelson (20) celebrates after hitting a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning at Chase Field. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Tigers are hoping to be able to build a contender over the next couple of years. In order to do that, they will need some of their key talents to start playing up to their full potential.

One of those talents is none other than former No. 1 overall pick and top prospect Spencer Torkelson.

The 24-year-old first baseman has been viewed as a potential superstar. Unfortunately, that potential has not manifested itself on the field just yet.

During the 2024 season so far, Torkelson has played in 54 games. He has hit four home runs to go along with 18 RBI, while batting .201/.266/.330.

Some of his massive potential was shown during the 2023 season. He clobbered 31 home runs and drove in 94 RBI, while slashing .233/.313/.446.

Recently, Tigers' President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris spoke out about Torkelson. He made it very clear the franchise still views the young first baseman as a huge part of their future.

"He is still a part of our future. We have a lot of faith in Tork. He has work to do in Triple-A, and he's hard at work in Triple-A to make a compelling case to come back here and demonstrate that he can be our first baseman of the future, but we have all the faith in the world in Tork. We know he's going to do it."

Looking ahead to the future, Detroit has some pieces they can build around.

Torkelson is going to be a big part of that future, while Tarik Skubal is another centerpiece. The Tigers have quite a bit of young talent in their organization as well. In order to take the next step, they will need that young talent to develop well.

Even though he has struggled this season, the young first baseman has elite superstar potential. If he can live up to the hype, he will be legitimately a franchise caliber player.

Hopefully, the team's faith in him ends up paying off. He's still young and hasn't come close to his prime. There is time for him to develop into the full player he is capable of being.

It will be interesting to see how he improves over the next couple of years. The Tigers desperately need him to figure things out and become the player they drafted him to be.