One of the Chicago Cubs’ under-the-radar prospects I follow is reliever Daury Torrez. On Thursday, the organization quietly promoted him to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, where he debuted with one shutout inning.
Torrez doesn’t make many Cubs top prospect lists, which isn’t surprising since these lists over-emphasize high K-rates regardless of command. Torrez has just a career 6.5 K/9 rate, but his plus command, low WHIP totals, and ability to induce weak contact almost makes him a middle-relief version of Kyle Hendricks. With his career 1.4 BB/9 rate, he should be especially prized given the big-league bullpen again leading the NL in non-intentional walk rate.