Interview with Luis Torrens — Former Padres’ Rule 5 Pick
Lake Elsinore, California
Following the Storm’s loss to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Friday night, I spoke with Lake Elsinore Storm’ catcher Luis Torrens about how the season has been going so far.
We spoke about numerous topics, and he was very accommodating throughout our interactions in the clubhouse post-game.
Before we began the interview, Torrens asked if we would be doing the interview in English or Español? I told him I was happy to do either. He said to me (in Spanish) enthusiastically, that Spanish would be better. So that’s what we did. Here’s our conversation translated back into English for your reading pleasure:
Q: How have you felt during this season and with the Storm?
A: “Good, content and during the season I’ve learned a fair amount and am playing every day. My goal is to play well every day and improve my offense and batting.”
Q: Can you talk about your experience last season in the major leagues and how you’re using that this season?
A: “It was a great experience, and I really learned a good amount. There was a lot going on and a lot of information that I took in [last season]. So I’m trying to use that same information every day here to further develop my game.”
Q: Do you think the scouting and information available here is the same as in the major leagues?
A: “I mean, yeah, there are definitely differences in the information available. We manage the information available and use it as best we can here. There’s some scouting and information that’s there, that we don’t have here. At the same time, there is some information here that we didn’t have there.”
Q: Do you work more on your hitting or catching?
A: “I work on both. I just try to really get better with hitting and catching equally.”
Q: Last season during players weekend you wore the nickname “Churro”. Could you tell me a little more about that?
A: “Really it’s just a nickname from my family and I don’t know why they gave it to me, but my little brother is ‘Churrito’ and I’m Churro.”
Q: Are there any pitchers here who you like to catch more than others or not?
A: “No, they’re all the same for me. Some of them are more complicated sometimes to catch, but in the end I’m doing my best to receive their pitches.”
It’s been a strong season for Torrens, as he’s hit exceptionally well in the California League with the Storm. His major league experience looks to be a real key for him moving forward. It is clear that he learned a lot of positive things to take with him to the minor leagues.
Torrens seems very intelligent and aware of how to be the best player he can be. His catching ability has been well-refined already, and seeing his bat start to take off is pretty exciting for the 22-year-old backstop. Come next season, if he’s hitting well at Double-A, there may be an even more complicated catching dilemma for the Padres, with Torrens potentially vying for playing time at catcher.
A sophomore at Willamette University in Oregon, Conrad is majoring in Spanish but is also a writing center assistant for other students at Willamette. He has been a Padres die-hard his whole life and hopes to bring comprehensible statistical analysis to the site.