New York Yankees top prospect Gleyber Torres has had a solid start to the season in Triple-A, but is it time to call him up to the Bronx?
If it wasn’t for Tommy John surgery last season, Gleyber Torres would most likely be in a Yankees uniform as we speak. Before his injury last season, Torres was hitting .309/.406/.457 in Triple-A and had a call-up to the bigs right around the corner.
Nonetheless, though, Torres missed the rest of the season, effectively pushing his timeline back a bit. Fast forward to now, and we are yet again looking at a possible early season call-up for Gleyber Torres.
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Before we make a case for Torres to be called up, it is important to note that he can not be called up till the upcoming Wednesday, if the Yankees want to gain an extra year of contractual control. Although this will never be admitted by the team, there is zero chance he gets called up without them gaining that year.
Now, why should the Yankees call up Torres? The first reason is very simple, and that is that he is raking in Scranton. In 29 PA’s he is hitting .370/.379/.556 with a home run and a triple.
It is very encouraging to see Torres hitting this way after really struggling in spring. He hit just .219 and looked like he was pressing a little bit at the plate. This was to be expected though for a guy who was just getting back into baseball after his surgery.
Due to his hot start in Scranton, Aaron Boone was asked many questions about Torres before Friday nights’ game. Boone told reporters that Torres was not quite in the groove they wanted to see yet. If hitting .370 is not a “groove”, then I am frightened to know what is.
As always, in order to call someone up, there has to be a need. So, is there a need on the Yankees? At the moment, Miguel Andujar and Tyler Wade have been getting a lot of the time at third and second, and they have both struggled.
So far in the bigs, Andujar has hit .156 and Wade has hit a putrid .094. These are both young players, so growing pains are expected. How long do the Yankees stick with these players though?
I think that if the Yankees feel Torres is ready, then he will get the call next Wednesday or Thursday. My guess would be that he plays a lot of second base. As much as the Yankees love Wade, Torres is the much better prospect and could insert himself as an immediate upgrade for the Bombers.
It is important to note that we still need to be patient with Torres. Not every prospect is Gary Sanchez, they don’t all light the world on fire right away. Torres is a 21-year-old, who has only played 30 career games at Triple-A. Just like Andujar and Wade, he may struggle when he comes back.
At the moment though, it is impossible to know if he will struggle, and with the lack of production at second and third, it is time for Gleyber to get his shot.
Next week at the earliest…it’s a simple business calculation and Torres should be fine with it.