BearSox Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I think we all can agree that Logan needs to be sent down. However there has been much debate as to who we should call up to replace. Some people said Poreda (even I), but it seems like the org. is in no hurry to rush him. I was looking at other possible replacements, and the best one that I found is Joseph Torres. And after doing some research, Torres has a very interesting past. It turns out he is a former 10th overall pick by the Angels out of high school (still only 25, going on 26) and got a big 2.08 million signing bonus. He did great in rookie ball in his first two years, and was named as the Angels top prospect by Baseball America in 2001. However it went all downhill for him after 01. In 02 and 03 he had decent numbers but was plagued with injuries and a loss of velocity, and as a result he was hit hard and his K numbers dropped. Plus, it didn't help that he had trouble throwing strikes. In 04 he finally (originally tried rehabilitation) had TJ surgery and was out for over the year. When he returned with the Angels in 05 he was terrible, and could hardly find the strike zone to go along with weak K numbers. 06 wasn't any different for him. After 06, the Angels let him go and we picked him up. For us, Torres did pretty good as a reliever in 07, eventually finding his way to Birmingham. His K numbers went up, and while he still had trouble with control, he didn't walk as many batter. So far this season he has a been a dominant reliever for the Barons, and even made the AA all-star, IIRC. He has over a K per inning (49 K's in 43.2 innings) and opponents are hitting only .152 against him. He also only allowed 1 HR this season as well. The biggest negative I can find though is that his BB numbers are still a bit high, walking rougly .6 batters an inning. Here are his career highlights according to MILB.com (they stop after 06): 2000 Was 4-1 with a 2.54 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) with the Rookie-level Boise Hawks of the Pioneer League, striking out 52 in 46 innings while giving up 27 hits and 23 walks...led all PL starters in average against (.169). 2001 Posted an 0-3 record with a 5.82 ERA in four starts with Cedar Rapids, striking out 14 in 17 innings while giving up 16 hits and 14 walks...was 2-2 with a 4.02 ERA in nine games (eight starts) with Rookie-level Provo of the Pioneer League, striking out 39 in 31 1/4 innings while allowing 32 hits and 15 walks. 2002 Went 11-8 with a 3.52 ERA in 25 starts with Cedar Rapids, striking out 87 in 133 innings while allowing 125 hits and 66 walks. 2003 Was 3-3 with a 5.88 ERA in eight games (seven starts) with Rancho Cucamonga, striking out 17 in 33 2/3 innings while allowing 47 hits and 20 walks...went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in three starts for the Rookie-level Arizona League Angels, striking out 15 in 16 innings while giving up seven hits and six walks. 2004 Did not play due to reconstructive "Tommy John" surgery on his left (throwing) elbow. 2005 Started the season with Rancho Cucamonga and went 0-4 with an 18.00 ERA in 10 games (six starts), striking out 15 in 20 innings while giving up 39 hits and 31 walks...went to the Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League and was 1-6 with an 8.50 ERA in 20 games (nine starts), striking out 25 in 36 innings while giving up 32 hits and 61 walks. 2006 Went 2-4 with an 8.14 ERA in 43 games with the Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League, striking out 45 in 42 innings while allowing 38 hits and 75 walks...walked a season-high six batters in 1 1/3 innings on Aug. 30 against the Lake Elsinore Storm and had five more games where he walked four batters...was 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA through 12 games in May, holding opponents to a .189 average while striking out 11 in 10 1/3 innings...was fourth in the league in walks (75). Here a couple useful links: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...&pid=445229 http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/T/Joe-Torres.shtml http://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.htm?id=6707 Anyone else know anything else about him? Anyone have any thoughts about him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxbrian Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Like you, he was the other guy I suggested besides Poreda. I know nothing of him, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 I know JPN goes to a lot of Barons games, so I am hoping he could add some insight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 can you move this thread to the minor league forum? Looks like he won't be seeing the majors anytime soon with Ramirez coming here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPN366 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 QUOTE (BearSox @ Aug 9, 2008 -> 08:46 PM) I know JPN goes to a lot of Barons games, so I am hoping he could add some insight. Decent fastball, I'm guessing a slider or change, maybe a splitter or sinker. Been awesome out of the pen for B'ham, nice guy, but not ready for big league action. If Clayton Richard got knocked around in the bigs, Joe's certainly not ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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