Torkelson, the No. 3 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, churned out four hits in a Saturday doubleheader sweep. He began Sunday by reaching base on a fielding error in the first inning, but he felt tightness in his left hamstring shortly after. It wasn’t an obvious injury and he stayed in the game, but he eventually reported the tightness to the Whitecaps’ medical staff, which decided not to push it and risk a more severe issue.
Eliezer Alfonzo pinch-hit for Torkelson in the top of the third. Torkelson is expected to undergo further evaluation once the team returns home. The Whitecaps begin a six-game homestand against Lake County on Tuesday night.
Torkelson is hitting .220 for the season but had a turnaround in Wisconsin, batting 7-for-18 in the series with six RBIs, four walks and one strikeout. His home run Saturday traveled an estimated 419 feet to center field, and he had a couple of opposite-field drives to the warning track in right after lining a double off the top of the left-field wall in Tuesday’s series opener.
Until Sunday, his only notable injury this year was off the field and self-inflicted, cutting open his hand while trying to open a can without a can opener during Spring Training.