NEWSLETTER
My stance on Gleyber Torres has been one of optimistic caution. The tools were there, no doubt about that. And last year his walk rate of 8.4% hinted that he was going emerge as a patient, disciplined hitter eventually, even if his 21.0% strikeout rate indicated there was a little too much swing and miss to his game for a guy who had an ISO of .093. Even though he was one of the best players in the Midwest League at the age of eighteen, I needed to see either the strikeout rate come down or the ISO go up before I could get really excited.
I am now getting really excited.
He entered 2016 with a total of five professional home runs. He now has seven in just 59 games. His line of .251/.337/.426 translates to an ISO of .175, almost twice what he showed a year ago. His walk rate is up (10.9%), and his strikeout rate is almost unchanged (22.2%). That strikeout rate is just fine for a guy showing this kind of power (in the pitcher friendly Carolina League no less), and a guy showing that kind of power who has the potential to stay at shortstop is very noteworthy.
Right now I have him ranked number two in the Cubs’ organization, behind Willson Contreras who is playing pretty well himself this season, but if Torres keeps up this sort of a pace through July, I may have a very difficult time picking between those two for the top spot in the mid-season re-rankings.[adinserter block=”1″]
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Iowa was rained out. That means we get a doubleheader today in Colorado Springs.
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 2
Hannemann is having a nice season.
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Frederick 7, Myrtle Beach 3
Leal did not have his best game, but half the runs he allowed were unearned.
Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 6, Dayton 1
The Cubs are still clinging to first place.
Other Notes
