Detroit Tigers: Is it too early to think about Spencer Torkelson’s future?

When the Detroit Tigers selected Spencer Torkelson, it was clear that this organization was able to bring in the purest hitter in the draft class. The kid has tools at the plate, and that has been proven. He’s going to bring an exciting future to the Tigers organization, which is something for the fans to look forward to.

However, when the Detroit Tigers drafted Spencer Torkelson, no one thought about the future salary implications it could place on this organization. While a prospect making it to the big leagues in the MLB versus the NBA, NFL, NHL is much different, he’s round one, selection one.

The Tigers are expecting that Torkelson is a force for this team’s lineup for the future and can continue to be crucial to the direction this team is building. If the tools can hold up in the big leagues, we are looking at one of the purest bats in some time for this organization.

Personally, his bat equates to that of Pete Alonso from when he broke into the league by storm. It’s hard not to be excited about that amount of talent that is oozing out as he makes his way through the team’s farm system.

Detroit Tigers prospect Spencer Torkelson has a bright future.

Talking about his future is great and fun, but at the end of the day, money is going to come into play at some point. While this may not matter this year or even in the near-ish future, the Tigers need to factor this in.

Torkelson, if the Tigers genuinely think he can perform to the caliber he has been linked to, he is going to be a perennial great. The Tampa Bay Rays are in a similar situation with shortstop Wander Franco. The organization wants to lock him up now for the long-term to preserve a (likely) future all-star for years to come and avoid arbitration years.

If the Tigers organization is going to learn anything, it’s going to be spending to preserve stars. While baseball is much harder to guesstimate than some of these other sports, putting the eggs in the basket of those who prove things may not be the worst.

Spending that money now is excessive. I’m not suggesting the Tigers hand out a 6-year, $100+ million contract to Torkelson as it stands. But if the rumors are true and he makes the club out of Spring Training, the team needs to be smart.

If the Tigers are going to shell out $300 million on someone like Carlos Correa, who seems “likely,” they need to start stockpiling money to pay Torkelson, and guess what… Riley Greene is going to need some money too.