Torres Off To Hot Start In DWL Play

2016 Chasers infielder paces Dominican Winter League with .472 avg

By Andrew Green

October 31, 2016

While there may not be a World Series game tonight, there is still plenty of action going on in the baseball world, the majority of it in the winter leagues down in the Caribbean. And there are not many hitters hotter at the plate than 2016 Omaha infielder Ramon Torres.

Through his first nine games with the Gigantes del Cibao he has hit .472 (17-36), adding 11 runs scored, three doubles, one triple, two homers and three RBI. Heading into play on Monday, he leads the Dominican Winter League in batting average, runs, hits, extra-base hits (six), and slugging percentage (.778), in addition to tied for first in home runs and second in on-base percentage (.486), just one point behind the circuit's leader.

He has already recorded two or more hits in six of his first nine contests, including at least one base knock in all but one game. He has homered in each of his last two games, including a four-hit effort on October 29 (4-5, 2 R, HR, RBI). He has equaled the amount of longballs hit with the Storm Chasers this past season, and totaled three over 114 contests in the 2016 Minor League Baseball regular season.

Torres split his time in 2016 between Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, though he played a majority of the time with the Storm Chasers. In 73 contests with Omaha he posted a .259 average (77-297) along with 35 runs, 12 doubles, one triple, two homers and 21 RBI.

He is not the only Omaha alum in the Dominican Winter League, let alone with the Gigantes del Cibao. He is joined by outfielder Moises Sierra, who played in 65 games with the Storm Chasers in 2015. Five 2016 Omaha players are also spending their time in the Dominican Republic this winter with the Tigres del Licey, including pitchers Jonathan Dziedzic, Andrew Edwards and Luke Farrell, as well as catcher Tony Cruz and outfielder Jorge Bonifacio.

A full listing of former Storm Chasers players currently in the various winter leagues, including in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico, and their up-to-date statistics, can be found by clicking here.