Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch wants to put one scenario to rest.
First/third baseman Spencer Torkelson and outfielder Riley Greene won’t make their MLB debuts in 2021. The organization wants their top prospects to fully develop in the minor leagues before bringing them all the way up, which should happen sometime in 2022.
But Torkelson and Greene — after tearing up the competition for Double-A Erie — were promoted to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday. Infielder Ryan Kreidler was also promoted. The Double-A schedule wraps up Sept. 19, but Triple-A teams play until Oct. 3.
“There’s been consideration to keep them in Double-A,” Hinch said Sunday morning, before the promotions. “There’s also an argument for giving them an uncomfortable setting of something new. I don’t think any decision has been made on whether that next step to Toledo is going to happen. But they’re doing great at developing and learning how to play every single day.
“They’re exciting prospects that are going to wear a big-league uniform, hopefully soon. We have to keep in mind the true development track has them continuing with success and not responding too quickly to moving them.”
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Greene, 20, has spent the entire season in Double-A Erie, hitting .296 with 16 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 54 RBIs, 41 walks and 102 strikeouts, while stealing 12 bases in 13 attempts. He owns a .380 on-base percentage and .520 slugging percentage.
Greene has been especially hot over his past eight games, hitting .471 with six home runs, 17 RBIs, four walks and six strikeouts, helping him to a 1.118 slugging percentage during this stretch. He has homered in four consecutive games.
“Anytime a big-time prospect has a good week or a good game or a good stretch, there’s always this curiosity on whether or not they need to be challenged with the next level,” Hinch said. “It’s easy to lump all these guys together. What we need to do is single them out and decide what’s best for their track to Detroit.”
The Tigers selected Greene out of high school with the No. 5 overall pick in 2019. Both Greene and Torkelson — the No. 1 overall pick in 2020 from Arizona State — competed in this year’s big-league spring training in Lakeland, Florida.
Greene hit .231 (6-for-26) with seven walks and 11 strikeouts over 22 games in camp, while Torkelson finished with a .037 batting average (1-for-27) with four walks and 16 strikeouts in 19 games. They represented the Tigers in July’s 2021 All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field in Denver.
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Torkelson, though, has put his spring training woes behind him.
The 21-year-old is hitting .282 with 21 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, 54 walks and 78 strikeouts combined with High-A West Michigan (31 games) and Double-A Erie (50 games).
He cruised through West Michigan with a .312 batting average and .440 on-base percentage, joining Greene and the SeaWolves on June 13. For Erie, Torkelson has a .263 batting average with 14 home runs, 36 RBIs, 30 walks and 50 strikeouts.
“I don’t think there’s an exact science,” Hinch said about moving Torkelson and Greene to Toledo. “You can’t predict how things are going to be. You call them up, and they get off to a really hot start, then you kept them down there too long. You call them up and they get off to a dry spell and they’re not very good early, then you rushed them. There’s no perfect way to predict exactly how they’re going to respond or what the right time is.”
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In Torkelson’s past six games, he is hitting .423 with two doubles, four home runs, nine RBIs, zero walks and five strikeouts, producing a .962 slugging percentage.
He went 7-for-7 with three home runs and six RBIs in Thursday’s doubleheader.
“Fundamentally, they need to be able to do everything to get to the next level,” Hinch said. “The next level will teach them something they’ve never experienced before. Maybe it’s more offspeed pitches in Triple-A, or you start having game-planning, or the lefties are a little bit better. Now you’re facing guys with major-league service time.
“The biggest jump in the world is coming from Triple-A to the big leagues. They’re getting there.”
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Kreidler, 23, has taken a massive step forward in his development this season, starting all 88 games at shortstop for the SeaWolves. To earn his promotion, he hit .256 with 15 doubles, 15 home runs and 36 RBIs, with 32 walks to 119 strikeouts.
In his 24 games since July 18, he’s hitting .327 with eight doubles, seven homers, 16 RBIs, 10 walks and 29 strikeouts. The Tigers drafted Kreidler in the fourth round (No. 112 overall) out of UCLA in 2019.
He is also listed as a third baseman but hasn’t played the hot corner in his professional career.
As for Toledo’s season lasting two weeks longer than Erie’s, Hinch had plenty to share about shuffling prospects:
“From the minor-league development standpoint, this is a really long season for these guys. Tork and Greene are good examples. They were in spring training in mid-February, went through the entire first month of the season where didn’t play but were going through minor-league camp, and then they go to their season and it’s extended into late September.
“That’ll factor in, certainly on the pitching promotions and even some of the positional stuff. Eventually, enough is enough for these kids. They sat out almost last year in its entirety, except for the alternate site, all the way to this being Tork’s first full season. Eventually, enough is enough for these kids. Those are examples of things that we have to debate in our heads on whether those extra two weeks are better served being done (playing) or better served being at the next level.
“Some kid that’s played in Triple-A for you all season and has been grinding all season, that roster spot still matters to that young player. A lot to balance in trying to prioritize things. You can’t just move guys out of the way for the sake of moving guys. That’s not how you treat professionals. But if the opportunity presents itself, then maybe they do get a taste of the next level. I think that’s going to be discussed in the next month.”
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.