Why the Tigers should be cautiously optimistic about early production from Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize

At 6-4, the Detroit Tigers sit atop the woebegone AL Central, and Monday’s win at snowy Comerica Park was their fourth straight (DET 6, NYY 2). The Tigers are 6-1 since being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the season’s first series, and they’ve outscored their opponents 39-21 in those seven games. Detroit has bounced back from that sweep very nicely.

Right-hander Casey Mize, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, turned in his second strong in as many tries this season, holding the New York Yankees to one run in six innings Monday. He struck out six. Since Day 1 of spring training, Mize has looked terrific, like a pitcher worthy of his draft slot after he struggled to establish himself the last few years around Tommy John surgery.

“I think we all know pitcher wins aren’t the biggest thing in the world,” Mize said after Monday’s game, his first win at Comerica Park since July 29, 2021 (via MLB.com). “But if it says my name in the win column, I’m certainly happy about that.”

Mize’s home win came one day after Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, delivered a walk-off two-run double against the Chicago White Sox. Torkelson has been Detroit’s best hitter in the early going, slashing .289/.400/.553 with four doubles and two home runs. Like Mize, Torkelson is off to a great start after struggling to stay in the lineup and perform the last few years.

“You see those at-bats in front of you and you just want to get in the batter’s box,” Torkelson said after Sunday’s win (via MLB.com). “The focus that those guys had and the at-bats they put together were unbelievable. If you don’t want to be in the batter’s box there, you’ve got a problem. The hard part was over with. I felt like I had the easy job.”

The Tigers returned to the postseason for the first time since 2014 last season thanks to a 31-13 finish, during which they received very little from Mize and Torkelson. Mize finished the season in the bullpen. Torkelson was demoted to Triple-A for two and a half months in the middle of the summer. Simply put, the Tigers hadn’t gotten much from their two recent No. 1 picks entering 2025.

Whiffing on two No. 1 picks is the kind of thing that could set a rebuild back years, though the Tigers did good work putting together the roster around Mize and Torkelson. Good enough to return to the postseason last year despite not getting much from those two. Mize did not pitch in the Wild Card Series and was left off the ALDS roster. Torkelson went 4 for 21 with 11 strikeouts in October.

Now, in the early days of 2025, Mize and Torkelson have become significant contributors, and that definitely was not part of the plan. Mize had to beat out Keider Montero and Matt Manning for a rotation spot in spring training, as well as Kenta Maeda, and there was speculation he would land in the bullpen if he didn’t. He was not handed a rotation spot because of his draft pedigree.

Torkelson, meanwhile, was pushed aside when the Tigers signed Gleyber Torres to play second base and moved Colt Keith to first base. The Tigers had him play a game in right field in spring training just to see if he could do it. Torres strained his oblique during the season’s first weekend, which gave Torkelson a chance to play regularly. He’s at first base and Keith slid back over to second.

There are reasons to believe Mize and Torkelson have unlocked a new level of performance and aren’t simply on well-timed hot streaks to begin the season. The obvious caveat is the season is still very young, and it is possible these are nothing more than a few good games strung together, but things have changed under the hood. Here’s what you need to know.

Mize has switched up his arsenal

Coming out of Auburn, Mize had a deep arsenal highlighted by a mid-to-upper-90s fastball and a knockout splitter. He also had two different sliders and a cutter, and occasionally threw a changeup too. The Tigers essentially replaced Mize’s sliders with a curveball in the minors and also had him start throwing a sinker. The elite splitter he showed in college was used less frequently.

Mize brought back his slider in 2021, resumed leaning on the splitter in 2022, and this year he’s shelved the curveball entirely and added a second slider. He’s throwing a traditional slider with hard downward break and also a slurve that is not quite a full blown sweeper. Against righties, Mize is a four-seamer/sinker/slurve pitcher. Against lefties, he’s four-seamer/slider/splitter.

“I’ve been trying a lot of new stuff, making some changes,” Mize said after Monday’s win (via MLive.com). “The hitters will tell me what’s going to stick around, and I like what they’re telling me so far.”

Beyond the changes to his pitch mix, Mize is further away from Tommy John surgery now. This past winter was his first normal offseason, one in which he wasn’t rehabbing from elbow construction, in three years. Good health can go a long way, especially when you’re as talented as Mize. His reshaped arsenal is a reason to believe a breakout season is underway.

Torkelson is pulling the ball

Pulling the ball in the air, specifically, which is the best kind of contract. When hitters pulled a fly ball or line drive last season, they hit .591 with a 1.325 slugging percentage. Pulling the ball has something of a negative connotation — we all love those “nice piece of hitting” opposite field singles — but it is, inarguably, the most productive kind of contact a hitter can make when it’s in the air.

Torkelson, a .337/.463/.729 hitter at Arizona State, has always shown impressive exit velocities. That’s kind of a prerequisite if you’re going to go No. 1 overall as a right handed-hitting first baseman, you know? Too often though Torkelson put the ball on the ground or popped it up from 2022-24. This year, he’s yanking it to left field on a line, like he did on Sunday’s walk-off.

From 2023-24, Torkelson’s pulled-in-the-air rate was a healthy 24.6%, comfortably above the 17.9% MLB average. This year it has skyrocketed to 39.1%, eighth highest among qualified hitters. He’s always made good swing decisions, meaning swinging at strikes and laying off balls. Now Torkelson is making more optimal contact, and the production is following.

“The approach doesn’t change,” Torkelson said after Sunday’s walk-off win (via the Detroit News). “You are still trying to get a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it.”

The season is still so very young and we have to give things a chance to breathe. At some point opposing teams will adjust to Mize and Torkelson, and it will be on them to adjust back. For now though, there are encouraging signs under the hood. Mize has a new pitch mix and Torkelson a new approach heavy on pulling the ball in the air. Both are in better positions to succeed than in the past.