ASU Baseball: Torkelson’s walks lead to opportunities for the rest of the lineup

(Photo: Nick Badders/WCSN)

It’s safe to say that Spencer Torkelson is no slouch at the plate.

Through 14 games, Torkelson has been walked a nation-leading 27 times.

At his current pace, the junior is set to reach base via the free pass over 100 times. His reputation at the plate has built him up to be one of the most feared hitters in collegiate baseball history and is one of the main reasons why he has reached base so often this season.

His presence at the plate was on full display last weekend when the Sun Devils took two-out-of-three games against the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers. Torkelson walked six total times while only having eight official at-bats in the series.

Sunday marked the first time all season that Torkelson did not walk a single time. As a result, he went three-for-five with a massive three-run home run and an RBI double.

In the two game series against the Cal State Fullerton Titans, Torkelson was walked three times, two of those times being intentional. He still went two-for-seven with a single and a two-run home run in those games too.

It’s evident that the opposing pitcher is put in a “pick your poison,” kind of situation every time Torkelson strides to the plate which has helped set up an abundance of opportunities for the rest of the Devil’s order to capitalize.

Junior outfielder Trevor Hauver in particular has been on the receiving end of most of those opportunities as he has become the regular three-hole hitter for the Devils, hitting behind Torkelson. Since the beginning of the season, Hauver has found himself hitting with at least one runner on base almost every time he’s come to the plate. After struggling to drive runners in during the first week or so, Hauver has found a grove hitting .313 with five homers and 19 RBI.

Gage Workman, Drew Swift, Hunter Jump, and others have also found success behind Torkelson as well. The Sun Devils have combined to reach base at a .397 clip which is good enough for fifth in the Pac-12.

The Sun Devils also rank first in the conference in runs scored (102) and are fifth in the nation in base on balls with 87 total. Torkelson accounts for 31% of those walks.

This all has helped ASU re-solidify their imposing offense from a year ago, scoring six or more runs each of the past nine games. The 2019 Devils lineup walked a total of 290 times which was good for no. 36 in the nation, a mark that is on pace to be matched this season.

The Sun Devil lineup as a whole makes it tough for opposing pitchers to record outs regardless of who is at the plate and Torkelson has been able to epitomize that in the early part of the season.

15 of his 27 walks to this point have been intentional which is an ASU record. Opposing teams have been put in a difficult scenario time and time again trying to determine whether or not they want to pitch to Torkelson or risk having to deal with the rest of the lineup with an extra runner on base. And when teams do decide to pitch to Torkelson, he has been able to work the count and find a way on base regardless.

This is all what is going to help the Devils compliment their consistent pitching staff with an efficient offense that can put up ample amounts of runs due to their ability to get on base and drive in runs.