Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 50: Luis Torres

A new year means a new season, which means an updated prospect list.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual pre-season list, in which I’ll take a look at the top 50 prospects in the organization. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observation, and other publications’ scouting reports if available.

To kick things off, we have Luis Torrez, a pitcher that the Blue Jays added during the 2022 International Free Agent signing period. 

Getting to know Luis Torres…

Position: Starting pitcher

Throws: Left

Born: February 24, 2005

Acquired: 2022 International Free Agency

2023 Team: Dominican Summer League Blue Jays

Previous Ranking: Unranked

The International Free Agency period is always fun because you never know what players are going to break out in a couple of years. The top Blue Jays signing for this period was Luis Meza, who signed for $2.05 million. However, he doesn’t rank on the list, while Luis Torres, who signed for just $10,000, does.

The 18-year-old lefty made his debut in 2022 when he had a 2.01 ERA and a 3.94 FIP in 31.1 innings pitched. On top of that, he had a 25.8 K% and a 12.5 BB% for 13.3 K-BB%. These are not fantastic numbers, but they are respectable.

Torres repeated the level in 2023 and had a 3.38 ERA and a 2.48 FIP in 18.2 innings pitched. However, his K% jumped significantly to an insane 43.2 K%, with a slight jump in his walk rate to 13.5 BB%. His K% was third in the organization with a minimum of 10 innings pitched, just behind Rowan Wick and Ricky Tiedemann.

Unfortunately, with most Dominican Summer League guys, there isn’t a lot of information available on their pitch or velocity. However, when he comes stateside (which will likely be in 2024), more data should become available. Either way, due to his high strikeout rate, Torres lands on this list at the 50th spot.