Prospect Profile: Luis Torrens

Luis Torrens | C

Background
The Yankees scout Venezuela as well as anyone, and, on the first day of the 2012-13 international signing period, they plucked Torrens out of Valencia, the third largest city in the country. He had been working out with Carlos Rios, formerly the Yankees’ international scouting director. Torrens received a $1.3M signing bonus, the largest the club gave out in the first year of the new international spending restrictions. He was mostly an infielder at the time.

Pro Career
After signing, the Yankees moved Torrens behind the plate full-time and were so impressed with how quickly he took to the position that they sent him to the rookie Gulf Coast League as a 17-year-old in 2013. Torrens held his own at the plate — .241/.348/.299 (100 wRC+) with one homer, a 13.2% walk rate, and a 19.6% strikeout rate in 48 games — while throwing out 19 of 43 attempted base-stealers (45%). It was a nice debut for a kid would should have been a high school junior.

The Yankees aggressively sent Torrens to Low-A Charleston last year, where he was the second young player in the league. He went 4-for-26 (.154) at the plate in nine games before a shoulder strain sent him to the DL for two months. After a quick six-game tune-up with the GCL Yanks, Torrens joined the short season Staten Island Yankees in June and hit .270/.327/.405 (115 wRC+) with two homers in 48 games as the youngest player in the NY-Penn League. At one point he had a 21-game hitting streak. Torrens also threw out 23 of 55 attempted base-stealers (42%) with the Baby Bombers.

Scouting Report
Despite his relative inexperience behind the plate, Torrens draws raves for his defense, particularly his receiving and his mobility blocking pitches in the dirt. His strong arm plays up because of a quick and clean release. Torrens had no trouble catching any of the team’s high-velocity prospects like Luis Severino, David Palladino, and Jordan Foley last summer.

At the plate, Torrens stands out for his approach and ability to adjust to breaking pitches. Most of his power is into the gaps right now but he can pull the ball to left field with authority. Torrens is still only 18 and he’s listed at 6-foot-0 and 175 lbs., so he still has plenty of time to fill out his frame and get stronger, though right now he projects as more of a higher AVG, high OBP guy rather than a big power hitter. Here’s some video:

Torrens is a good athlete who was a legitimate prospect at third base before moving behind the plate. He’s not very fast, so, like most catchers, he won’t be a weapon on the bases. Torrens still has a lot of work ahead of him but he took to catching extremely well, so it’s no surprise he gets very high marks for his makeup, work ethic, and baseball aptitude.

2015 Outlook
The Yankees aggressively started Torrens with Low-A Charleston last season and he’s much more prepared for the level this season. He’s still be one of the youngest regulars in the league and likely the youngest starting catcher. Torrens won’t turn 19 until May and I expect him to remain with the River Dogs all season. No need to rush him.

My Take
I absolutely love Torrens as a prospect. I love that he took to catching so well and so quickly and I love that he has a plan at the plate and offensive potential. Torrens is the next great Yankees catching prospect, one with a chance to be an impact player on both sides of the ball. Don’t get me wrong, he has to go a long way to get from here to above-average two-way catcher in the big leagues, but Torrens has lots of upside and all the tools.