Torres delivers in spot start for Crawdads
No matter what role he's been used in this year, Christian Torres has been a model of consistency for Class A Hickory. So when the Crawdads played a stretch of six games in five days and were short on arms, manager Spike Owen had no concerns about calling upon the southpaw
No matter what role he's been used in this year, Christian Torres has been a model of consistency for Class A Hickory. So when the Crawdads played a stretch of six games in five days and were short on arms, manager Spike Owen had no concerns about calling upon the southpaw for a spot start.
"It doesn't matter when you bring him in or what situation of the game he's in," Owen said. "He's confident in his abilities and he knows how to pitch."
Torres yielded just one hit over a career-high six innings as Hickory blanked Columbia, 5-0, on Thursday night at Spirit Communications Park. He struck out three.
"He was outstanding, he picked us up big time in a spot start for us," the skipper said. "We've had several doubleheaders this last week. We needed him to pick up some slack, and he did just that.
"Christian's a three-pitch guy -- fastball or sinker, slider and changeup. He commands the zone, and tonight he was exceptional, especially his changeup. His changeup was really on tonight and he kept them off balance. A lot of ground balls, the defense played well behind him. And there were a lot of quick outs, he was really efficient."
Owen has primarily used Torres as a long reliever, but when the Crawdads played their second doubleheader in three days Tuesday, the manager knew it was time to turn to the native of Puerto Rico for his second start in 25 games with the club.
The former Major Leaguer expected Torres (3-2) to throw about 75 pitches to keep his limited bullpen arms fresh, and he delivered on that, tossing 54 of 77 pitches for strikes while recording 12 ground-ball outs. The 2016 30th-round pick had one three-ball count and recorded six outs on three pitches or fewer.
Torres reduced his South Atlantic League ERA to 2.98 over 63 1/3 frames, which would be good for seventh on the circuit if he had enough innings to qualify.
Gameday box score
Owen was particularly impressed with the way the 23-year-old continually kept his pitches low and away.
"He pitches to both sides of the plate and his command is usually good, and tonight it was really good," Owen said. "His sinker was down to the right-handers. It was a predominantly right-handed-hitting lineup. They had just one lefty in the lineup, which ironically is the only guy who got a hit. He was pounding it down and getting good sink. His changeup is a good pitch anyway for him, but tonight it was exceptionally good."
The Faulkner University product retired eight of the first nine batters faced, working around a second-inning fielding error by first baseman Andretty Cordero. No. 5 Mets prospectAndrés Giménez broke through with a two-out single in the third, but Torres got J.J. Franco to fly out to left to end the frame.
Owen could tell Torres had his best stuff working in all counts after the first third of the game.
"I thought the stuff was there from the start," the manager said. "He's always been a guy that will throw the ball over the plate and look for contact. His changeup showed up later, not that he didn't use it early. But once he found that and saw that they were swinging at it, they couldn't pick it up."
Using his off-speed stuff to perfection, Torres set down the final 10 batters faced, with just two balls leaving the infield. Owen admires that the 6-foot, 160-pound hurler handles any opportunity -- including the five appearances he made with Triple-A Round Rock this year -- with great aplomb.
"He's very reliable," Owen said. "You can use him in any situation, really. He's good against lefties and righties. Certainly with the slider that he has on lefties in a lefty-lefty matchup, he can come in for one inning if it's a situation where there are lefties. He's done well up and down our system this year.
"Obviously he's done a great job for us, knows how to pitch and knows what he wants to do. When he has command like tonight, he's pretty tough."
• Get tickets to a Crawdads game »
Jairo Beras followed with two scoreless innings before Sal Mendez allowed a hit in the ninth for Hickory.
Alex Kowalczyk collected three hits and three RBIs, while top-ranked Rangers prospect Leody Taveras added two hits, walked twice and scored twice.
Andrew Battifarano is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter, @AndrewAtBatt.
MiLB podcast discusses Anthony, Caglianone at Triple-A
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
These are the greatest Minor League promos happening in June
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
New playoff format coming to 2025 Dominican Summer League
Minor League Baseball announced the 2025 Dominican Summer League (DSL) season will begin June 2 with Opening Day festivities taking place at the Boston Red Sox Academy in Guerra. The 2025 campaign will also see the introduction of the DSL Cup, a new playoff format that will see 16 DSL
Debating best Minor League home caps on podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
The Omaha Storm Chasers' 'Take Meow-t' cat night included a Litter Box Sundae
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Boston's Triple-A affiliate throws birthday bash for Roman Anthony
With all the hype that has surrounded Roman Anthony over the past two seasons, it’s easy to forget how young he really is. MLB's No. 1 prospect played 70 games at the highest level of the Minors before he could order a beer. But he can now. Roman Anthony turned
Friendly foes, 2024 first-rounders Moore and Caglianone trade first Triple-A homers
For years, Christian Moore and Jac Caglianone laced up their cleats against one another in the SEC. A rivalry that spanned Florida, Tennessee and other landmarks across the South moved to Salt Lake City this week as the Royals and Angels' top prospects got simultaneous Triple-A promotions. So it was
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two