How Luis De La Torre’s Inspiring Career Path Led Giants LHP From Mexico To Top 30 Prospect
For many Mexicans, the United States represents more than just a new country—it symbolizes opportunity, safety and the hope for a better life.
It’s often viewed as the “Promised Land,” a place where hard work can open doors that seemed forever closed back home. That’s why so many are willing to take the immense risks of leaving behind families and facing uncertain futures, all for the minuscule chance to build the life they’ve long dreamed of.
It’s no different for Giants lefthander Luis De La Torre. And just because he was born in Phoenix, it doesn’t mean that playing in the Arizona Complex League gives him a home field advantage.
The 21-year-old spent a very brief period of his infancy in the United States before his family moved back to Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California, a town of 18,784 people a little over an hour’s drive from the United States border into Calexico, California.
De La Torre’s birth in the U.S. was by design. His parents understood that an American passport could open doors for their son that might otherwise remain shut.
“They wanted me to have better opportunities in life,” De La Torre told Baseball America in Spanish.
Fifteen years later, one of those doors finally opened.
– –
While visiting family in Ogden, Utah, De La Torre felt a pull. It was a pull not just toward a new place, but toward a new path.
“I didn’t want to be part of the same crowd,” De La Torre said. “I didn’t want to follow the same path as everyone else around me. I had a golden opportunity in front of me. I wanted to go to the United States to learn English and see what was out there for me. Baseball wasn’t crossing my mind.”
With his parents’ blessing, he made the leap. At 15, De La Torre moved to Utah and enrolled at Ogden High School. To support himself, he took on two jobs: one as a maintenance worker for an appliance company and another packaging produce alongside his aunt.
The itch to play baseball, however, never left. It was De La Torre’s first love when he was just five years old. He played all over the field and traveled all around Baja California and Sonora to compete against some of the best talent in Mexico.
Naturally, when De La Torre found out that Ogden had a baseball team, he signed up without hesitation. Stepping onto the diamond gave him something he hadn’t felt in a while—a sense of belonging. Even though he was thousands of miles from Guadalupe Victoria, the field felt familiar. In a place where everything else was new and uncertain, baseball made him feel at home.
And then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and all of that went away. De La Torre didn’t end up graduating from high school (although he was later able to receive his diploma with the help of the Giants).
After bouncing around between Utah and Mexico, De La Torre knew he wanted to pursue an education, but the path forward wasn’t entirely clear. Whether it meant earning a college degree or exploring a trade through vocational school, he was determined to find a direction. Something that could give his life more structure and purpose beyond the day-to-day grind.
Those plans quickly changed, and he never saw it coming.
– –
One day, while playing in a recreational league, he caught the attention of someone who connected him with Audy Mesa, who played in the Giants system from 1989 to 1991 and now runs the Dominican Baseball Academy based out of West Haven, Utah. Mesa quickly identified De La Torre’s potential, but at 19 years old already, the window of opportunity was getting slimmer and slimmer as the days went by.
That’s when Mesa made a suggestion that changed the course of De La Torre’s career.
“He said, ‘Do you want to go to the Dominican Republic and make it pro?’” De La Torre said. “I was going to need to leave everything I had behind. But it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
So, he made a decision—and a sacrifice. De La Torre sold off his few valuables, including two beat-up cars, to buy a plane ticket to the Dominican Republic and chase the dream he never thought would come back around.
At first, his fastball sat between 82–85 mph. It wasn’t eye-popping, but it was a foundation. With relentless work and a growing understanding of the craft, he gradually built up velocity, eventually touching 90 mph.
Eight months in, De La Torre got his shot. He pitched in front of a few Giants scouts, but what stood out most was who else was watching. Kyle Haines, the organization’s farm director, was in attendance. And what he saw in the young lefty was more than just raw talent—it was potential worth investing in.
“He was short on velocity but had a feel for the fastball command,” Haines said. “We felt like we could possibly add some velocity to him with some reps and our pitching department that we have. Each year, it seems like he puts on two mph and also gains a lot more confidence in himself.”
De La Torre signed for $10,000 and reported to the Dominican Summer League. Signing on the dotted line was a moment that, to this day, he can’t believe happened. But it was just the beginning of his journey.
And that adventure brought him back to Phoenix, the city where he was born. But just like the mythical phoenix, De La Torre’s career is beginning to rise—not from flames, but from perseverance, sacrifice and second chances.
– –
De La Torre has made six appearances this season, pitching to a 4.22 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 38 strikeouts to 12 walks across 21.1 innings. His fastball has touched 97 mph, and he has a curveball, slider and changeup that he continues to polish up to strengthen his arsenal.
It’s helped him jump as the Giants’ No. 28 prospect. Not bad for someone who once moved to Utah simply hoping to find a steady job, with no thought of baseball in his future.
“We have been very successful finding and developing the under-the-radar guys as an organization,” Haines said. “We are pretty proud of that, and it shows in our major league pitching staff as well, which is exciting to see.”
De La Torre knows that the future of his baseball career lies with every pitch he tosses. But he also carries a bigger responsibility every time he steps onto the mound. And that’s representing where he comes from—the people, the culture and the dreams that shaped him.
“I’m proud of being Mexican,” De La Torre said. “I’m proud of everything my country represents. There is so much baseball talent in Mexico, and I hope that I’m good enough to open doors and opportunities for other people who have the same dream as me.”
link
