July 23, 2008 by Kevin Goldstein Arizona Diamondbacks Torra Torra Torra?: A first-round pick in 2005 whose career was all but derailed by labrum surgery, Matt Torra had a 6.01 ERA at High-A Visalia in his first year back in '07. This season, however, Torra had a 2.85 ERA in 13 Double-A starts before moving up to Triple-A, and one scout who has been following him feels that, while he's a completely different pitcher from his pre-injury days, he still only projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter. "When you first see him, you just don't believe in him at all," said the scout. "His velocity is maybe average, the body isn't very athletic, but he really just gets it. He's 87-89 mph, touches 91, he's got good command, and the changeup is pretty good. He pitches with no fear and he's aggressive, and he just grows on you." More Than Just A Four-A Guy: Jamie D'Antona, a 26-year-old corner infielder, has had an explosive .367/.407/.612 season at Triple-A Tucson, but he's been written off by many as just a minor league performer, although at least one scout is convinced that D'Antona has big-league value as a bench player. "You know, I always thought he was overrated back when he was grouped with [Carlos] Quentin and [Conor] Jackson back in the day, but now I'm convinced that guy could help somebody off the bench," explained the scout. "He's developed some feel for hitting, and somehow his swing plane is much shorter this year. There's no doubt in my mind that he'd torch left-handers in the big leagues right now—maybe he could be a Wes Helms kind of guy who will always hit southpaws but come up short everyday against righties—that might be a career." [Editor's Note: No sooner had this been filed than the Snakes called up D'Antona last night.] --

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