Scouting Report: Cubs shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres

Torres was signed by the Cubs as an international free agent during the 2013 international signing period out of Venezuela. He has been very impressive in his full season debut so far this year, hitting .307/.370/.403 in 96 games. Drawing rave reviews from scouts and his performance in full season ball as an 18 year old, he has absolutely shot up prospect lists this year. Now, Torres is a legitimate top 50 prospect in all of baseball according to most prognosticators. He was listed at #25 midseason here on Minor League Ball, #28 for Baseball America, #36 on MLB Pipeline, and #50 with Baseball Prospectus.

Checking in at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Torres' listed height and weight looks fairly accurate. It’s a thin frame and to me he looked athletic enough to be able to stick at shortstop long term.

I have heard very good things about Torres’ ability on both sides of the ball. What stood out most to me in the game I saw was his defensive ability at short. In the game I saw he didn’t make any highlight reel plays, but he just made everything look so smooth and easy. The most difficult play he made in the game I saw was where he had to range to his right and make an off balance throw to first to nail the runner. He showed off impressive arm strength on this play and it looked like an arm that should play as a shortstop.

It looks like Torres still has a ways to go with his stick. I’ve heard good reports about his approach at the plate, but the night I saw him he swung at the first pitch nearly every time with a very aggressive approach. However, I’m not going to make any rash judgements about his approach after only seeing 4 at-bats as that is the epitome of a short sample size. It did still look like he has potential to be a solid contributor with the bat one day at the Major League level.

His swing is smooth and level with good bat speed and it should allow him to hit for a good batting average. While Torres doesn’t have much power right now, it looks like he could develop into a guy who can hit 15 home runs at the major league level one day with added strength.

While, one game isn’t nearly enough to write a full report on a guy, Gleyber did show some very impressive tools. It looks like he has the potential for all five tools to be average, above average or even some plus. This guy is far and away the most impressive prospect I’ve seen all year in the Midwest League.