Luis Torrens (C, SEA) - Week 17 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ROSTERED IN: 6% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Torrens started the season as the Mariners' primary catcher but got off to an ugly start at the dish. He hit a paltry .178 with a .519 OPS over his first 96 plate appearances before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on May 20. He was recalled back on June 15 and has been quietly raking ever since. Over his last eight games, he's slashing a rock-solid .333/.484/.667 with a triple, two home runs, five RBI, four runs scored, and a 6:7 K/BB ratio. Overall, he has a .221/.291/.456 batting line to go along with six doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 20 RBI, and 19 runs scored across 149 at-bats. The lower rate stats have a lot to do with his poor start but his expected stats show he's been better than advertised. He's sporting a decent .253 xBA, .340 xwOBA, and .469 xSLG with a 12.7% barrel rate and 39.1% hard-hit rate.

The M's begin the week with a two-game set against the Rockies in Coors Field before heading home to host the Athletics for a four-game series. They will be facing two of the Rockies' best pitchers in German Marquez and Jon Gray but both hurlers rely on their four-seam fastballs 45% and 47% of the time, respectively. Torrens has a .299 xBA and .631 xSLG against fastballs this season, which also favors him in his matchups against Oakland's James Kaprielian (53% fastball usage) and Frankie Montas (62.8% fastball usage).

Something to keep an eye on is the fact that Seattle called up catcher prospect Cal Raleigh right before the All-Star break and he remains on the roster at the time of this writing. As of now, the M's are rostering three catchers between Torrens, Raleigh, and Tom Murphy. However, Torrens is slashing .308/.372/.692 with four home runs, seven RBI, and seven runs scored while serving as Seattle's designated hitter (43 plate appearances). He should be locked into regular at-bats behind the plate in Colorado and is capable of serving as the DH in Oakland if necessary.

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