SF Giants Top 31 Prospect Rankings: 2020 Midyear Update

SF Giants top prospects: No. 9 — 3B Luis Toribio

Age: 19
Highest Level: Low-A (Salem-Keizer)
Acquired: IFA (2017)
Future-Value Grade: 45

Luis Toribio has long been held in high regard by those within the organization. He’s shown the maturity of a player plucked from the college ranks both physically and emotionally for some time, and one source said back in 2019, “He already carries himself like a big leaguer.”

Toribio received a $300,000 signing bonus in the 2017 international signing period and he remains the gem of the class. A strong debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2018 put him on people’s radar, but scouts generally like to see stateside production before drawing any conclusions.

In the DSL, he hit 10 home runs in just 64 games and tallied nearly as many walks (51) as strikeouts (62). However, walk rates in the DSL can sometimes be deceiving. Last season, in his stateside debut, he maintained that impressive discipline with 47 walks in 54 games.

His maturity works against projecting Toribio since, like Teng, he lacks the projection standard for someone his age. There’s enough there to see an above-average everyday player, but there isn’t a lot of room for error.

Toribio has already maxed out his 6’1” frame. He’s also a below-average runner, but his soft hands and strong arm project as above-average at the hot corner. As more and more teams have begun moving players like Mike Moustakas to second base that could be a long-term option as well.

While no tool outside of his strike-zone awareness project as plus, there’s a potential combination of above-average hit and power tools.

The early results stateside were quite positive, as he hit .296/.433/.454 between rookie ball and Low-A Salem-Keizer. While effective, that production does seem to mirror similar problems Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds showed as a prospect in the Giants system.

Both Reynolds and Toribio shared impeccable patience and raw power that seemed to more consistently result in doubles than home runs. The key difference is Reynolds was an above-average athlete with the ability to play center field. Limited to a corner, Toribio will probably have to turn more doubles into home runs. That may play like an early-career Jose Ramirez, but is a much harder road.

For now, Toribio has the ceiling of an above-average everyday player, with a high enough floor that he’s a safe bet to at least develop into a solid bench bat or platoon option if he falls short of that ceiling. He’ll definitely be challenged at the team’s alternate site and has a chance to move quite quickly. The team may very well see him as the long-term replacement for Evan Longoria.