Diego Tornes was the prize signing of the 2025 International Free Agent period. He was considered a unanimous Top 20 international prospect and was signed for right around $2.5M.
Expectations were a bit high for someone that came into the season at 16 years of age. Nobody expected him to burst onto the scene with a 1.000 OPS but he was touted as an extremely polished teenager with an advanced approach and great hit tool to go with explosive bat speed. He also came with defensive praise, as his fantastic speed translated very well in the outfield with scouts calling him a plus defender in center. All that said, despite the age, there were some lofty expectations for someone that was barely old enough to drive a car in the US.
All things considered, 2025 was a mammoth success for Diego who flashed every single tool he was described as having. Across 32 games for the Braves in the Dominican Summer League, Diego hit .279/.395/.402 with 10 extra-base hits and 24 stolen bases. The season had its ups and downs with Diego showing some inconsistencies, highlighted by stretches of play where the strikeouts ramped up, or he went hitless. But it’s safe to say that Diego impressed everyone in 2025. According to reports out of the Dominican, Diego showed plus defense out in center with an arm that plays at any level. His bat speed was in fact everything that was expected, exploding through the zone keeping him in at bats. The advanced approach showed up in a big way with Diego ending the season with a 15.6% walk rate.
Everything. Yes there were stretches where Diego would go hitless, but for his age 16 & 17 season, Diego lived up to every part of the billing. He was great at the plate, and at in the field, and once again – showed off his great arm multiple times.
Injury. Diego’s season was cut short with an undisclosed injury, but it was not considered significant. Baseball is hard, so those hitless streaks he went on are of no real concern.
There might not be a position player with higher expectations than Diego Tornes coming into 2026. He will be 17 for a vast majority of the season so it’s important not to overanalyze any stretch of play, but with the way scouts across baseball talk about Diego – there’s a lot to like, and we should all hopefully be getting our first looks at him sometime next year in Augusta.
