Speaking to reporters outside the Cardinals locker room a day after Springfield’s 4-1 victory over Arkansas in Game 1 of the Texas League North Division Series, Bryan Torres modestly recited platitudes when pressed to brag about his league-best .331 batting average.

Photo courtesy of PJ Maigi | Springfield Cardinals

The 2024 Texas League batting crown is Torres’ third in a row – he led the American Association in 2022 and 2023 with the Milwaukee Milkmen – and the experienced minor leaguer long ago mastered fictitious Bull Durham Catcher Crash Davis’ talent for modesty in front of the media.

But then someone asked Torres what he thought of outfielder Chase Davis, the Cards’ No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft who had recently been promoted to Double-A, and Torres’ eyes lit up as if the question was an unexpected blow.

“Hey man, I’m telling you, this is one of the greatest talents I’ve ever seen in baseball,” Torres gushed. “Great arm, he can run, he can catch, he can hit, he can hit with power: five skills that I’ve given you here. So, he’s young, he’s still young, but he’s going to be so good. This guy is going to be so good.”

“It won’t be many years before you see him on the show,” he said.

And Torres — with nearly 2,800 at-bats in his 10-year career, including stints with the Puerto Rico national team — has seen plenty of talent. He got a good look at Davis’ RBI single in the second inning that opened the scoring Wednesday night and admired the 400-foot home run that finally gave the Cardinals some breathing room.

Springfield left 11 runners in scoring position, but starting pitcher Brandon Komar delivered a combative performance and the Cards held on to their 2-1 lead when former Springfield relief pitcher Logan Gragg came on for Arkansas to face Davis in the eighth inning.

Chase Davis CRUSHED this game. An absolute TANK for his first playoff BOMB. pic.twitter.com/azTc7R3PGo

— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) 18 September 2024

“It was an 0-2 change up the middle and I thought all night they were going to come out of the zone, but he left the ball up and I beat him well,” Davis said.

The ball flew off Chase’s bat over the facade of right field at Dickey-Stevens Park, fitting for the left-hander’s ascent through the Cardinals’ minor league system in 2024, which he attributes to his focus on the present moment.

“Just stay where I am, get better every day and perform excellently and be present – introduce myself to the guys and get close to them too,” he said.

“I have so much fun in the dressing room – these guys are amazing, always a smile on my face, always laughing and joking. I would say it’s a bit serious at times and there’s a lot of joking going on, but that seriousness is between the white lines and that’s how it should be.”

For Springfield, it is now about aiming for the club’s second championship in the Texas League.

Kolten Wong, Oscar Martinez and Oscar Tavaras celebrated Springfield’s only title in 2012, at a time when the organization was also successful at the major league level and the Cardinal Way preached winning high-league games in the minor leagues.

Manager Jose Leger says that culture has been present in Springfield’s locker room this season.

“There’s no progression now, we want to win. These guys want it, but they wanted it from the beginning. In all the first meetings, one-on-ones, it was a common theme when they came into the office and said, ‘I want to win,’ ‘I want to win,’ ‘I want to win.’ I heard that from a lot of players, that says something about their attitude when they started here – combined with the everyday camaraderie – they just became winners… it was fun to watch them,” he said.

First pitch for Game 2 of the Division Series at Hammons Field is at 6:35 p.m. Thursday, with Game 3 on Friday if necessary. The Texas League Championship Series is scheduled to begin Sunday.

Andy Carroll

Andy Carroll is a freelance sportswriter who lives in the Ozarks with his wife and four amazing kids. He loves St. Louis, toasted ravioli, and minor league baseball. You can follow him on Twitter at @carroll_sgf and Instagram at @andycarroll505.

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