Torkelson returns to the majors, and he has a lot to prove amid another mediocre season in Detroit

Updated Aug. 19, 2024 5:55 a.m. ET

Associated Press

It was an exciting weekend for the Detroit Tigers, who took a couple games from the New York Yankees — the latter in walk-off fashion in the Major League Baseball Little League Classic..

More importantly, the first of those victories included the return of Spencer Torkelson, whose next few weeks could say a lot about how much longer Detroit will remain mediocre.

The Tigers haven't made the postseason since 2014, matching the Los Angeles Angels for baseball's longest active drought. A lot went wrong to prolong Detroit's rebuild, particularly the failure to land any future standouts when trading Justin Verlander back in 2017. But the fact is, the Tigers have had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft twice since then, and neither pick did enough to change the team's fortunes.

In 2018, Detroit picked Casey Mize, who is 9-19 with a 4.28 ERA in 55 career starts. He's been worth 3.5 wins above replacement according to Baseball Reference. Paul Skenes has been worth more WAR than that in just over three months with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 2020, the Tigers selected Torkelson, who seemed to be progressing well enough when he hit 31 homers in 2023. But a year later, he started so poorly he was sent down to the minors in early June. He came back up and hit a double and a triple Saturday.

Detroit is only three games under .500, and it's easy to imagine how much better they could be if Mize and Torkelson were performing the way other recent No. 1 overall picks — Skenes, Adley Rutschman and Royce Lewis, to name a few — have been able to. After declining to trade Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal at the deadline, the Tigers have a chance to be relevant in 2025.

The question is whether they can upgrade what's been one of the game's weaker offenses, and more production from Torkelson would be a big help.

Trivia Time

Torkelson was the fourth No. 1 overall draft pick out of Arizona State. Who were the others?

Anyone's Race

Remarkably, the top six teams in the major leagues are separated by just one game. Philadelphia is 73-51, a half-game ahead of Baltimore, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at 73-52. Cleveland and Milwaukee are 72-52.

Not only do the AL East, AL Central and NL West have tight division races, but the chase for first-round byes could be compelling as well since only the top two division winners qualify. It's anyone's guess which division winner will be forced into a best-of-three series in the National League. In the American League, Houston (67-56) has some catching up to do against the AL East and AL Central leaders, but there's enough time for the Astros to snatch a bye, and they've won 10 of their last 11.

Line of the Week

A tip of the hat to Philadelphia's Weston Wilson, who became the first rookie in Phillies history to hit for the cycle Thursday night.

But the honor goes to Juan Soto for his three-homer game two nights earlier for the New York Yankees in a 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Comeback of the Week

Down to their last out Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers tied the game at Boston on a three-run homer by Wyatt Langford. Then Jonah Heim led off the 10th with a two-run shot to lift Texas to a 9-7 victory. The Red Sox had a win probability of 97.3% at one point, according to Baseball Savant.

The defending champion Rangers will need an even bigger comeback to make the playoffs, however. They've lost 10 of their last 14 and are currently 11 games under .500.