Abraham Toro

After Houston's July 26 game with Seattle, Toro was slashing .211/.287.385. The Astros traded him the next day and Toro switched dugouts. He went on to hit .252/.328/.367 the rest of the way, though the Mariners gave Toro more playing time. Six of Toro's 11 homers came in an 18-day period, three before the deal and three after. Toro's contact rate is league average with a walk rate below the norm. Entering his age-25 season, Toro has time on his side, but his batted ball profile suggests only moderate improvement over last season's final .239/.315.373. Seattle must agree since they've indicated Toro will get outfield reps in the spring, implying he will be more of a utilityman than regular third baseman, which is where he primarily played with Seattle. Even with regular playing time, Toro isn't mixed-league worthy as a starter, but his flexibility could serve as a useful bench piece in deeper formats.

Toro had some preseason helium last year as a sleeper and saw regular action with the Astros in August and early September, but the 24-year-old didn't capitalize on the opportunity. The switch hitter has flashed excellent contact skills and some power potential in the high minors, but so far in his big-league career he's had trouble elevating the ball to take full advantage of the latter. He has the defensive chops to handle a starting assignment at the hot corner, but with Alex Bregman locked in at third base, Toro will have to settle for a utility role, and perhaps not even as the primary one on the bench with Aledmys Diaz still around. Toro still has time to put things together, but as was the case in 2020, he'll likely need injuries to open a path to consistent playing time.

An assault on Double-A (153 wRC+) and Triple-A (179 wRC+) pitching combined with defensive competency at third base led to Toro making his big-league debut in August while the Astros were short-handed in the infield. He simplified his swing in 2018 while playing in the Arizona Fall League and those adjustments led to him being the best hitter in the Texas League after being a below-average hitter (89 wRC+) in 50 games there in 2018. A switch hitter who turned 23 this offseason, Toro excels at making contact and walked over 10% of the time at all three stops. His groundball rate was elite in the minors (under 40% at Double-A and Triple-A), but a 50.0 GB% contributed to his struggles in a small sample in the majors. He could be a plus hitter with above-average power, but is blocked at his three positions (third base, second base and designated hitter) to begin the season.