Tigers’ comeback player gets snubbed in Silver Slugger announcement with Royals glut

American League Silver Slugger finalists were revealed on Thursday morning, and the Tigers had two deserving representatives in Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry. Greene’s nomination was far from a shock after his 36-homer, 111-RBI season, but McKinstry’s inclusion was a little shocking and the perfect exclamation point on an admirable season.

The Tigers were far from the most slug- or homer-happy team in 2025, but there are still arguments to be made for Detroit hitters who were overlooked. You could point to Gleyber Torres at second base, who had a pretty comparable season to finalist Brandon Lowe in everything but slugging.

However, the more glaring snub might be Spencer Torkelson being ignored in the first base category in favor of division rival Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals.

Pasquantino, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Nick Kurtz are the finalists at first. Neither Pasquantino or Kurtz really have a chance against Guerrero, and so Torkelson wouldn’t have either, but he deserved to have his name up there with three of the best offensive first basemen in the league after, much like McKinstry, putting together a season no one expected in 2025.

Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson snubbed among Silver Slugger first base finalists

Torkelson and Pasquantino had nearly identical seasons at the plate in home runs and OPS+; Torkelson had 31 homers and a 117 OPS+, Pasquantino had 32 and a 120 OPS+. It’s almost certainly the RBI that put Pasquantino ahead (113 to Torkelson’s 78), but Torkelson had better numbers in high leverage, in late and close situations, and in tie games.

Also … the Royals had FOUR finalists with Pasquantino, Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Maikel Garcia and didn’t even make the playoffs. We know this is a regular season award, but Tork putting up similar pound-for-pound numbers and being on a postseason team should probably hold more weight.

The fact that we’re making a case for Torkelson, of all players, is a testament to how far he came this season, after everyone wrote him off in 2024 and he found himself at the center of numerous trade rumors in the offseason. It seemed like the 31-homer, 94-RBI year he put up in 2023 might be his peak after a weak 2024, and Tigers fans were more than willing to call him a draft bust an move on.

Maybe he’s still not totally living up to the hype of a first overall pick, but Tigers’ fans distinct lack of complaints about him this year says a lot in itself. There’s a lot here to build on in 2026, when Torkelson will hopefully get the recognition he deserved this year.