Jhon Torres

The Cardinals cleared a 40-man spot and acquired one of the best young right-field prospects in baseball when they sent Oscar Mercado to Cleveland in exchange for Torres and a lesser prospect. It quickly looked like a brilliant deal for St. Louis, as the 6-foot-4, 200-pound slugger hit .397/.493/.683 with four home runs and a 13:8 K:BB in 75 PA in the GCL after the trade. He will always crush lefties, but the focus will be on continuing to hold his own against same-handed pitchers. Torres should continue to add good weight in the coming years, and while he is not an up-the-middle player, he is a good athlete with an electric swing that should generate power to all fields. As a prototypical right fielder, there will be a lot of pressure on his bat as he moves up the ladder, but he has the tools and the makeup to reach those lofty benchmarks. He turns 19 in March and should be challenged with an assignment to the Midwest League.