ARIZONA STATE

Baseball America ranks ASU’s Torkelson as college’s best 2020 prospect

Aug 6, 2019, 10:30 AM | Updated: 10:33 am

(Photo Courtesy Andrew Palla)...

(Photo Courtesy Andrew Palla)

(Photo Courtesy Andrew Palla)

Arizona State baseball is churning out MLB talent.

After producing Hunter Bishop, the No. 10 overall pick of the 2019 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants, Spencer Torkelson figures to be another top pick in next year’s draft as well.

The likelihood of that is high, as Baseball America has ranked Torkelson as the No. 1 college prospect in the 2020 draft.

The praise for Torkelson makes sense. The ASU first baseman has hit .337/.443/.723 with 48 home runs through two college seasons. He broke Barry Bonds’ freshman record for most home runs in a season in 2018 with 25, which also led the NCAA.

He followed up in his sophomore year with 23. Torkelson’s college OPS sits at 1.166.

Bob Horner is the only other ASU Sun Devil to hit 20 home runs in back-to-back seasons.

Despite the MLB-level talent, ASU baseball has not made the College World Series in Torkelson’s time at the school, losing in the regionals in 2019 and finishing below .500 in 2018 with a record of 23-32.

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