Tigers' Spencer Torkelson has almost entirely stopped doing something — and it might be a problem

Spencer Torkelson finally broke out last season.

The Detroit Tigers' former No. 1 overall pick hasn't followed that trend so far in 2026. He's hitting just .218 with no home runs and a .650 OPS through April 16.

A look at his numbers finds one thing that has changed more than anything else: first-pitch swings.

Torkelson has the largest year-to-year decline in first-pitch swinging in all of MLB.

Last season, he swung at 31.5% of the first pitches he got.

This season, Torkelson has swung at just 10.1% of his first pitches.

No one has dropped off in that stat more than the 21.4 percentage point decline of Torkelson.

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Of course, that wouldn't have to be bad. If Torkelson isn't getting good pitches to hit early in counts, not swinging might be the right plan.

He actually ranks in the 99th-percentile in MLB in chase rate, meaning he swings at pitches out of the strike zone at a lower rate than pretty much everyone else in baseball. 

Torkelson has done a good job of walking, getting a base on balls in 18.8% of his plate appearances.

But he's not in the Tigers' lineup to walk, either. He's there to do damage, and so far he hasn't done that.

Not always, but sometimes the first pitch is the best one a hitter will get in an entire at bat. Torkelson isn't really thinking like that in the early going.

His struggles may be attributable to other things. But one way to try and turn it around may be a bit more aggression in the box. It'd have at least a chance of helping the cause.

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