Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Spotlight on Christopher Torres

At Marlin Maniac, we strive to bring you news from all levels of the Miami Marlins minor league system. Today’s daily prospect piece focuses on shortstop Christopher Torres, currently with the Batavia Muckdogs.

Christopher Angel Torres is a 5’11”, 170 lb. switch-hitting shortstop from Santiago, in the Dominican Republic. Born on February 6th, 1998, Torres came to be part of the Miami Marlins organization in the Dee Gordon trade. That was on December 7th last year. He joined the club along with RHP Robert Dugger from the Seattle Mariners for Gordon and “future considerations.” Torres is currently ranked as Miami’s #15 prospect. According to the MLB.com prospect rankings page, Torres’ two plus attributes are his plus arm and his plus-speed:

Torres was initially signed by the Mariners for the 2015 DSL campaign. In 64 games, he slashed .251/.399/.344. The OBP in the line showed tremendous patience for such a young player. He drew 51 walks, nearly a quarter of his plate appearances. He also swiped 20 bags and collected 30 RBI.

The following season, Torres was moved up to the Mariners domestic rookie league. He joined the AZL Mariners along with recent draftees and appeared in 44 games, slashing .257/.337/.559 with 17 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Moving Up

Torres moved up again in 2017 to the Mariners short-season A team, the Everett Aqua Sox in the Northwest League. Not sure what an “Aqua Sock” is, but their mascot is like, a frog. So there’s that, but I digress. He appeared in 48 games for them, and hit .238/.329/.446. He showed a little power for the first time, smacking six home runs and finishing with 22 RBI, along with 13 stolen bases.

After the Miami Marlins acquired Torres, they apparently wanted to see a little more from the youngster at the short-season level. He played two games with the Batavia Muckdogs in mid-June, going 0-for-4 with a walk and a run. He then took a month off. He was never placed on the disabled list, but after four weeks on the bench, he was sent down to the GCL Marlins on a short “rehab” assignment, going 0-for-6 with a walk and a run. He hadn’t really at that point shown any of the flash we had been hoping for.

Last Night

Torres batted second for Batavia last night against the Williamsport Crosscutters (12-20). In the first inning, he singled and later scored. In his second at bat, with two outs in the second inning, he doubled down the right field line. He came up in the fourth inning with Brayan Hernandez on first base, and smacked his first Marlins’ organization home run over the left field fence. Torres then greeted new Crosscutters pitcher Oscar Marcelino in the sixth inning by drawing a walk, then advancing to second on a wild pitch, to third on another wild pitch, and scoring on a Marcelino balk. I guess he made Marcelino nervous. With one out in the seventh, Torres collected another RBI with a sacrifice fly into center field, scoring Demetrius Sims. In all, a pretty good game, and a showcase for Torres.

Potential

More from Marlins Prospects

Torres projects as an everyday middle infielder with excellent range and a plus-arm at shortstop. Offensively, he may be coming around. I look for a promotion to the Greensboro Grasshoppers before the conclusion of this season. With normal progression following, he should earn a Spring Training invitation in 2020 and an outside chance to break camp with the club in 2021. In the meantime, we’ll keep our eyes trained north and watch him get better.

Next: Spotlight on Osiris Johnson

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