Torrens' 2018 Season In Review

So last year I recapped Luis Torrens' first year in the majors. It was a fairly easy because he got almost no playing time whatsoever with the San Diego Padres and half of that post was pretty much finished by May. All I had to do was wait for the final numbers and some charts and graphs to show up and that was that.

But trying to recap this year is a bit more difficult for a variety of reasons.

The first is that Torrens spent the entire year in high-A Lake Elsinore. I'm too busy and broke to watch or buy the MiLB.tv subscription package. So for the most part all I could reasonably do was just follow his daily progress on MiLB.com (you can also see the results he put up on my sidebar). The Padres just don't get the same type of attention and following that the Yankees do. As such it's really tough to keep up with day-to-day progress on their prospects (unless they're the top tier guys like Luis Urias). Throw in how Torrens is kind of an afterthought in Padres land and there's even less attention on him.

Secondly, trying to take something of value from minor league statistics isn't exactly the best approach. It's the minor leagues. Players are still developing and learning. Not just Luis, but the people who played with him and against him too. As such his numbers could be super inflated because defenders at the minor league level are a few notches below major league level defense. The more meaningful stats aren't really calculated too often at the minor league level. Even if they were, chances are the sample sizes would often be far too small to say anything of substance.

Thirdly, I just got bupkis all summer long in terms of meaningful Torrens news and updates. Some notes here and there on Padres blogs and that was about it.

But enough whining, I'm gonna do the best I can with what I've got. Vontae Davis never quit. I won't either.

Part 1). Torrens the consistently receiving reps hitter

Torrens managed to accomplish something he never did before as a Yankees prospect. Play a full season of minor league baseball. He played in exactly 122 games (cracking the 100 games played plateau for the first time ever as a pro). More importantly he got 475 at-bats in all of those games. That's more than what he got in 2016 and 2017 combined!

In those 475 at-bats he hit for a .318 BABIP, .280 batting average and .727 OPS. Good for a 94 wRC+. Even though those are minor league numbers, they're still okay. Especially for a catcher. The outlook on his bat was always going to be that it would lag a bit in comparison with his glove. His approach was always described as "patient" but his walk rate dipped a bit this year. That said he walked 26 times compared to 77 strikeouts so the patience is still there.

Last season I made note of how Torrens hit lefties pretty well. That was the same this year as Torrens hit for an .802 OPS in 99 at-bats against southpaws.

Against righties Torrens hit for a .707 OPS in 376 at-bats.

Naturally the sample size for lefties is no where near as big as the one for righties is, but it's at least somewhat encouraging to see that Torrens could do damage against lefties while holding his own against righties.

The .313 BABIP is promising and given how the gap between that and his .280 batting average isn't too ridiculously wide I'd say his ability to hit for this year probably fell somewhere in the middle.

As far as the power aspect of his game went, Torrens hit six total home runs this season and hit 36 doubles. Torrens was never going to have Gary Sanchez-levels of power but the consensus was that he'd be more than capable of hitting with line drive power. Think he's slowly tapping into some of that raw power. Because it felt like every week he'd hit a double. With more time and conditioning he may reach his power potential as a guy who could hit a dozen home runs as a catcher in the big leagues. Here in 2018 you'd take that number of home runs from your catcher any day.

Not sure what there really is to say about other aspects of his offensive game TBH. His running game was never really something to write home about (there's a reason the Yankees converted him from a shortstop to a catcher) but he won't kill you either. He had one stolen base this year (the Lord giveth) and one caught stealing (the Lord taketh away). Not much more I can say beyond that.

Part 2: Torrens the consistently receiving reps catcher

So here's the REAL importance of getting Torrens regular playing time. To develop his defense.

The biggest factor of his defensive game was always his arm. Even after reconstructive shoulder surgery his arm is still pretty strong and capable of picking off would-be base stealers. This season he caught 32 runners (he allowed 63 stolen bases), good for a 34% caught-stealing percentage. That might not seem too impressive at first, but that's about the rate the likes of JT Realmuto had during their time in the minors. Unfortunately there's no data on the net to show how fast Torrens' throws to second (or third?) were so no clue on what the velocity of his throws are or where they stand compared to other catchers.

Of course there were other aspects of his catching game to work on too. Mainly just learning to catch. In this age where pitchers are performing witchcraft with every pitch they throw, that's a tall task.

This is where lack of real info hurts my ability to say anything about Torrens' glovework. Are his framing skills improving? Did he make big strides in the art of blocking pitches? How about his ability to call a game?

The answer to all of these questions is, "I don't know". The best I can do is throw out there that he had 21 passed balls. But that doesn't tell me jack shit. Every catcher has passed balls in the minors.

These are the aspects of prospecting/player development that intrigue me the most. Because they're impossible to note in terms of stats/concrete results. You need to actually see how they're doing every game. You need to talk to coaches, teammates, opponents, scouts, rival scouts, etc... to see what kind of changes the player is making as the season goes on. I don't have access to that unfortunately. All I can do is hope that the influx of playing time allowed Torrens to improve on all of those aspects.

Part 3: Quotes

So what's been said by people in the know about Luis Torrens this year?

Let's start with the man himself, Luis Torrens. He did an interview with the East Village Times back in late-August that's short but sweet and simple. You can read the whole thing here.

Q: Are there any pitchers here who you like to catch more than others or not?A: “No, they’re all the same for me. Some of them are more complicated sometimes to catch, but in the end I’m doing my best to receive their pitches.”

Here's a fun one. Torrens admitting that some pitchers are harder to catch. I'm sure that's not out of the ordinary for any catcher given that pitchers can throw high velocity missiles that break and sink at the last minute like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Sidenote, that East Village Times piece said that his catching ability was refined and that he took the lessons he learned in the big leagues to heart. Sounds pretty good to me.

Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Torrens had anticipated his assignment to the minors and was enjoying getting more consistent playing time. Also interesting to note that Torrens learned a lot under Austin Hedges' tutelage.

Former Padres beat writer and current MLB contributor Bill Center named Torrens to his weekly top prospect team back when he had a super hot streak in early July and late May.

Part 4: Miscellaneous Info

So some other notable (to me) things that happened include his showdown in spring training against former Yankees prospect Jose Campos.

Luis won his battle against Jose with an extra bases hit. Notice how he added some loft in his swing. He's tapping into his power and he knows it.

Also I got word from a commentor a while ago that Lake Elsinore doesn't release minor league team sets anymore. So no Torrens MiLB issue this year. A huge bummer for sure, but one that saved my wallet when all was said and done. It's a shame that Torrens with that bad ass logo was never immortalized on cardboard, but I'm hoping a cool San Antonio Missions card in 2019 can make up for that.

Part 5: 2019 (and Beyond)

So what is the outlook for Torrens' 2019 season going to be?

Well he wrapped up what was (all things considered) a successful season in high-A. Double-A San Antonio is definitely where he'll be heading next year. Some could argue he should've been there this year but with Austin Allen ahead of him it seemed a bit unlikely the Padres would take away everyday at bats from either of them. Whether or not Allen starts in triple-A or double-A might have some impact on where Torrens starts though. Right now the Padres are probably deciding if they should start with Hedges and Francisco Mejia or if they should keep Mejia down in triple-A for a while. In the end I'm not sure if Mejia (or Allen) stay at catcher long term, but for now they are and there's a real logjam in the Padres system because of it. Keep in mind that Luis Campusano is on the horizon too.

Personally I think the Padres should trade Torrens to the Yankees just for the sake of clearing the logjam a bit.

And there was Luis Torrens' 2018 season. All told the Yankees could've used him and his 1.103 OPS with runners at second and third this year (.800 OPS with the bases loaded). Dude's clutch.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).

Closing the Book on 2018

Yesterday was the very last Staten Island Yankees home game of the season, obviously I went.

I still had a lot of the Brooklyn Cyclones set to get signed so I decided to go with them for most of this game. Starting with Mac Lozer.
Lozer was drafted by the New York Mets in the 33rd round of the 2017 MLB Player Draft. He's a righty reliever with a high-80's fastball, a slider and a changeup. Lozer capped off his collegiate career with a nice year in relief and the Mets are hoping that will continue as Lozer turns pro. He also used to be an intern for the Indianapolis Colts.

Next was Yeudy Colon.
Yeudy Colon was signed by the New York Mets as a non-drafted free agent back in 2015. Colon had himself a nice little year in the NYPL and earned All Star Game honors in the process. I can't find a whole lot about Colon's scouting repertoire but I have been able to find out that he's due to be Rule 5 eligible soon. Wonder if a team claims him in the minor league portion of the draft.

Here's Brian Sharp.
Sharp was drafted by the New York Mets in the 26th round of the 2018 MLB Player Draft. During his collegiate days Sharp was a two way player ala-Shohei Ohtani. He had a high-80's fastball, a changeup and a slider, but the Mets see him more as a position player. He's versatile enough to field most positions but the Mets see the best use of his lack of speed in the corner infield positions.

Next up is Billy Oxford.
Oxford was drafted by the New York Mets in the 27th round of the 2017 MLB Player Draft. He has a low 90s fastball, a curveball, a slider and a changeup. How those develops will determine how he fares in relief going forward.

After him is Ryley Gilliam.
Gilliam was drafted by the New York Mets in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Player Draft. He has a low-90's fastball that has been able to hit 96 mph at times, a curveball, changeup and a cutter. He converted to relief in college and he's been used as a reliever thus far into his professional career as well.

Here's backstop Kevin Hall.
Hall was signed by the New York Mets as a non-drafted free agent back in 2016. Can't find a whole lot about him online. Sounds like most have him written off as a warm body for the lower levels who'll get released in about a year or two.

Next up is Tylor Megill.
Megill was drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB Player Draft. The brother of Padres prospect Trevor Megill, Tylor was a starter and reliever in college and has been both since turning pro as well. Megill has a low 90's fastball that can touch 95 mph, and a curveball. I'm guessing that now that he's a starter he's adding one more pitch to his arsenal.

Here's lefty pitcher Josh Walker.
Walker was drafted by the New York Mets in the 37th round of the 2017 MLB Player Draft. He's armed with a low 90's fastball and grew up being a fan of the Yankees (even wore Paul O'Neill's jersey number back in high school).

Next up is Chase Chambers.
Chambers was drafted by the New York Mets in the 18th round of the 2018 MLB Player Draft. Chambers has a ton of power and was able to turn that into one of the best careers in Tennessee Tech history. Since turning pro he's managed to maintain some hitting prowess though in spite of moving from a hitter friendly NCAA league to a pitcher friendly NYPL. He has a strong arm and could be a weapon at third but his glove leaves a lot to be desired whenever he's not at first.

Here's Walter Rasquin.
Rasquin was signed by the New York Mets as a non-drafted international free agent back in 2013. Rasquin was one of the Cyclones' best hitters in 2017 and was expected to do a lot of great things at the next level. He spent some time with the single-A Columbia Fireflies before being suspended for using methamphetamines. He made his return to pro ball with the Cyclones where he put up another good season. He can hit for contact and has speed.

To make sure the season wouldn't go off on such a Mets centered note, my last autograph was of Jesus Bastidas. On the jumbo sized card there (the smaller one is to show how much bigger it is compared to the standard one).
Bastidas' 2018 was mixed but I consider him my favorite sleeper prospect out of the position players who suited up for Staten Island this year. If I had to pick three I'd go with Josh Breaux-Jesus Bastidas-Kyle Gray. Lots of other deserving names were in the mix too but I like what the three of them have to offer going forward. Bastidas and Gray especially were pretty good with the glove. If their bats ever come around, watch out.

So how was the last home game for the 2018 Staten Island Yankees?

Yeah, they lost 4-5 to the Brooklyn Cyclones. Sucks. But it was nice to be able to make it out to the stadium. Frank German was super solid but the Yankees offense wasn't able to back up the pitching until later in the game. It happens.

At some point I just decided to just chill by the bullpens and take videos of the Yankees relievers warming up from my favorite angle ever. The sun made shadows and glare difficult but overall I think I got some nice footage.
I hope a lot of these guys continue to climb the ladder upwards next season (and beyond). They were a hoot to root for and more importantly eavesdrop on.

So yeah, thanks for a fun season Staten Island. Looking forward to what kind of fun you'll bring next year!

As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).

2018 IP Auto Count: 81

Goodbye August

August has officially ceased to be, we're now in the last third of 2018. What this effectively means is that there is only one more Staten Island Yankees baseball game left.

Because the weather for that is super iffy (New York's been raining so much you'd think it was Florida!), I decided to go see yesterday's game for sure.

At this point in the season there aren't too many autographs I need outside of a few guys in the Pulaski set who were recently called up to Staten Island. I already got two of them on Wednesday, and I managed to get the other two yesterday.

The first is Austin Gardner.
Gardner was drafted by the New York Yankees in the ninth round of the 2017 MLB Player Draft. The son of former Astros minor league Scott Gardner, Austin Gardner was seen as one of the better relief prospects coming into the 2017 draft. Using his fastball and curveball combination, he's put up very good results so far, such as when he wracked up 46 k's in 32.1 IP in Pulaski this year. Gardner was recently promoted to Staten Island to give the bullpen some more depth (the starters are starting to get shut down and barely go 4 IP now so the more relief arms the better).

The second (and last) autograph is courtesy of Daniel Bies (pronounced "Bees").
Bies was drafted by the New York Yankees in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Player Draft. Bies is a 6'8" giant who was drafted out of the University of Gonzaga. He has a fastball that can touch 94 mph and a slider that's said to be above average. Bies is everything the Yankees covet, a tall pitcher who can throw a ton of strikes. He doesn't quite have the velo but he's still effective.

Both Gardner and Bies pitched on the 30th (of August) for their Staten Island debut. Bies pitched four innings of relief (four innings! in relief!) and Gardner pitched three (three innings! in relief!) to earn their first win and save (respectively) of the season. Power moves right there.

So how did the game yesterday turn out?

Well Luis Gil (pronounced "Hill") was the starter for the Staten Island Pizza Rats. The outing as a whole was kind of what I expected. Gil has insane velo (the scoreboard said he touched 100 mph but Robert Pimpsner reported that it only went as high as 98 mph), but has some control issues. I saw both. I also saw the Vermont Lake Monsters make a lot of hard contact against Gil's heaters. Gil threw in some changeups and a few curveballs but for the most part he was super fastball heavy. As a result he got himself into a lot of jams. Lots of base runners. He finished the last game of the season pitching 4 IP and allowing three earned runs.

When all was said and done the Pizza rats lost 9-0 to the Lake Monsters. Sucks, but it is what it is.

Regardless, I was just glad there was still some baseball left to enjoy. As of the time this blogpost officially goes up, there will only be one more regular season game for the Yankees this season and given how a playoff berth is looking less and less likely, that'll probably be their last game of the season as a whole.

Baseball man, so simple yet so magical.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).

2018 IP Auto Count: 70