I’m officially a believer in Chicago Cubs prospect Gleyber Torres.
Depending on which list you’re consulting as your prospect bible, Torres ranks somewhere in the 6-10 range on the Cubs current top prospects list — he was 11th prior to the season; before the Cubs went and called up every prospect this side of the Mississippi. After watching Torres single-handedly demolish the Peoria Chiefs last night, the Midwest League all-star left a buzz among the many Cubs fans in attendance.
Torres was the designated “strikeout candidate” at the Peoria Chiefs’ stadium — the exceptional Dozer Park, one of the nicest Single-A ballparks around. If he struck out once, it was free food for a row. Twice, it was free food for a section. And so on.
Well, Torres didn’t strike out. Like, not even once.
Torres went 5-for-5 (HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R). The home run was his first on the year, and all the other hits were rockets –not a cheap one to be found. He made all of his chances at short, and broke up a double play on a ground ball. One game never defines anything or anyone, but, man, it’s tough to walk away from that performance and not be at least a little impressed. When you piece it together with his broader numbers, you start to think this guy is one who definitely bears watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akehm-OXRGU&feature=youtu.be
So far this season, Torres is hitting .319/.391/.405. He has 14 extra base hits and 10 stolen bases to go along with the impressive slash line.
Signed out of Venezuela at the age of 16, Torres was touted as the third highest international prospect that year (2013) and enjoyed a $1.7 million signing bonus for that status. And he’s done nothing but hit. He has a career .309/.386/.405 line, has lower than a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and while not perfect, has seen his fielding percentage increase with each minor league stop –it currently sits at .950.
He’s a ways off from Wrigley, but go ahead and learn his name now; you’ll save yourself the trouble later.
Brian has written on Chicago sports for five years and has been published to Yahoo Sports, along with several sports blogs. You can follow him on Twitter @brianjdavis87
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