Jose Torres

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked San Diego Padres #21 prospect in 2017
  The Athletics signed Torres for $150,000 as a 16-year old international free agent out of Venezuela in 2010 and traded him in the five-player deal that sent Drew Pomeranz to the Padres after the 2015 season. Pomeranz blossomed into an all-star, but the Padres also received a great return on Torres in 2016. The starter-turned-reliever began the season at high Class A Lake Elsinore and finished in the majors, posting a 2.14 ERA and strikeout rate of 8.8 per nine innings across four levels. Torres' main weapon is his 94-96 mph fastball, which touched 98 in the Arizona Fall League. He uses a three-quarters arm slot that produces cut action on his fastball, helping it play against batters on both sides of the plate. He deploys an above-average power curveball as his main secondary pitch, and it shows tilt and downward action at 83-86 mph. He rarely uses a fringy upper-80s changeup. Near-average control led to high walk rates and less strikeouts than his pure stuff would indicate, but he limits damage by keeping the ball on the ground about half the time. Torres is ready to compete for a spot in the Padres bullpen in 2017.
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  Ranked San Diego Padres #28 prospect in 2016
  Torres signed with the Athletics for $150,000 out of Venezuela in July 2010 and joined the 40-man roster in November 2015. Oakland traded him to the Padres (along with lefthander Drew Pomeranz) a couple weeks later in a trade for Yonder Alonso and Marc Rzepczynski. Torres has a fastball that sits 92-94 mph and has touched 96 with late life. He has a long way to go in his development. He still is learning how to pitch as opposed to just throw. His changeup is a work in progress but has flashed some fade and depth after Torres worked with Beloit pitching coach Steve Connelly. The evolution of his change has made Torres more effective against opponents from both sides of the plate. His best secondary pitch is his curveball that has hard, slurvy action and 11-to-5 movement, and he can use it as a chase pitch or throw it for strikes. The A's worked Torres as a starter through 2014. He wasn't effective and did not enjoy the role, but he thrived out of the bullpen. He should spend a good portion of 2016 at Double-A San Antonio.