Eric Torres (minors02)

Eric Anthony Torres

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
• School Kansas State University
• High School Hamilton High School (Sussex)

• Born September 22, 1999 in Milwaukee, WI USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Left-handed pitcher Eric Torres was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 14th round of the 2021 amateur draft when they famously used all of their 20 picks to select pitchers, with not a single position player mixed in. Torres was coming out of Kansas State University where he had just gone 4-0, 2.75 with 1 save as a reliever in his junior season.

His first professional assignment was with the Tri-City Dust Devils of the High-A West where he was 0-1. 5.40 in 8 games in 2021. In 2022, he spent the entire season with the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the AA Southern League, going 2-2, 1.59 in 42 games, with 22 saves. On September 3rd that year, he was part of a historic first for the new minor league team, the first no-hitter in its history, combining with Chase Silseth and Luke Murphy on an 8-0 win over the Biloxi Shuckers. All three had been taken by the Angels in the 2021 all-pitcher draft. After that strong performance, he was invited to spring training by the Angels in 2023, then started the season back at Rocket City. In his first appearance of the season, on April 8th, he was part of the second no-hitter in Rocket City history, but that one was a much different story. The Trash Pandas' starter, Coleman Crow, started off that game with six hitless innings against the Chattanooga Lookouts, but when top prospect Ben Joyce, the hardest-throwing pitcher in college baseball history, was asked to close out the 3-0 lead (it was a seven-inning game as the first of two games of a doubleheader), things went sour. Joyce got the first two outs but loaded the bases with walks in the process, then walked in a first run. CF Jeremiah Jackson then misplayed a routine fly ball, allowing all three runners to score. That's when Torres came in, and while he recorded the final out via strikeout, it came not before he had hit five opposing batters with pitches, walked one, and thrown a wild pitch. Rocket City scored a couple of runs in the bottom of the inning to make the final score 7-5 in one of the most unusual no-hitters ever seen anywhere.

Further Reading

• Jacob Resnick: "A no-no like no other: Score 7 runs without a hit -- and win!", mlb.com, April 8, 2023. [1]

Related Sites

• Kansas State University bio