There have been many great storylines at the start of the 2025 baseball season. Aaron Judge is doing absurd things at the plate. The Athletics are young and fun. The Tigers one of the top rotations in all of baseball. Speaking of those pesky Tigers, who are proving that last year was no fluke, their biggest storyline is the breakout season of first baseman Spencer Torkelson.

Torkelson Enjoying his Breakout Season

The storylines surrounding this Tigers team are phenomenal. The pitching has been elite, Javier Baez is actually doing productive things for the club, but Torkelson breaking out is right at the top of the list. This is truly the moment everyone has been waiting for. Torkelson was drafted first overall for a reason, but had yet to put it all together at the MLB level. This Tigers team is a pesky group and showed exactly why last season. Now they have Torkelson playing his best baseball and you certainly love to see it.

Torkelson struggled at the plate in the beginning of his career. He has never hit above .250 and even saw himself finish below .220 twice. Oof. Not only did he struggle just to make contact, he never truly hit for power. Torkelson had been a very below league average hitter and close to an average hitter and you know there is much more on that tank. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Torkelson has done a complete 360 degree turn and is a large reason why the Tigers are having success offensively.

Torkelson has seen a jump in all his numbers and you love to see it. His batting average sits at .241 and has seen his on base percentage and slugging rise nearly 100 points. His wRC+ of 156 sits second among all qualified Tigers hitters, while hitting the most home runs (8) and also driving in the most runs (24). You absolutely love to see this type of production out of him and this early into the season. Not only is he one of the better producers among the Tigers, but among first baseman across the entire league.

Among all first baseman, Torkelson is 15th in average, but is 11th on base percentage. Amazingly his OPS sits sixth and so does his wRC+. It’s truly great to see that he’s been one of the best at the position this season.

Under the surface, there’s much to like about his start and why this breakout is huge.

His bat speed has stayed relatively the same, averaging 73 MPH. But what he is doing is he’s making much harder contact and barreling the ball more. You gotta love seeing that. His hard hit rate has skyrocketed 11.7% and his barrel rate is up 10.9%. That power has seen his exit velocity rise and it’s great to see Tork hitting for power.

Based on the image above, everything he is doing at the plate ranks very high around the league. He’s become quite the power bat and you have to love how high his walk rate has jumped up. All these numbers back the progression that he’s made and it’s truly great to see.

If you are a Tigers fan, you have to be thrilled that he’s finally broken out and has been a huge key to their early season success.