Yesterday, April 21, the Yankees called up top prospect Gleyber Torres. Torres call-up could be because Yankees 2B Brandon Drury is on the 10-day DL. But Torres could also be up in the big leagues for good and could be saying 'bye' forever to those long bus rides that minor league baseball players take.
About Gleyber Torres
Gleyber was born on December 13, 1996, in Caracas, Venezuela and is just 21-years-old. When he was a child, he played CF, pitcher and catcher and SS which is his primary position.
Torres' path to the big leagues
At the age of 17, Torres signed as an international free agent with the Cubs for $1.7 million.
In his first season as a professional baseball player, playing in both the Arizona rookie league and Class A, he batted .297/.386/.440.
With his success in the minor leagues, he was regarded as a top prospect in all of baseball even at the young age of 19. In 2016, he was ranked number 18 out of 100 top prospects in all of baseball. During the 2016 season, the Cubs traded him to the Yankees along with three others for Aroldis Chapman who later returned to the Yankees in the 2016 off-season. At the conclusion of the 2015 season, he played in the AFL (Arizona Fall League) which he was the youngest participating player in 2015. Him being the youngest player didn't deter him at all as he became the youngest player in the history of the AFL to win AFL MVP.
In 2016, MLB Pipeline rated him as the third-best prospect in all of baseball. He was invited to big league spring training and didn't disappoint as he batted .448. His 2017 season was cut short as he tore his UCL in his left elbow which required him to get Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the season.
This year, he was rated as the fifth-best prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline.
Coming into spring training, he was competing for a spot on the opening day roster as the team had no one entrenched at 2B or 3B. Torres hopes of making the opening day roster were squashed when the Yankees brought in utility players Brandon Drury and Neil Walker. Yesterday, he was called up to the big leagues after batting .347 in AAA.
Modern-day comparison: Addison Russell
There are a lot of similarities between Russell and Torres who the Cubs have both employed with Russell being the Cubs everyday SS. Russell was considered a top prospect and a dynamic player when he was in the minors. He has a career average of .301 in the minors with only 38 HR and 159 RBIs. Torres has a career average of .285 in the minors with 24 HR and 208 RBIs. They also both have similar OBP in the minors with Russell having an OBP of .376 and Torres having an OBP of .362.
While not only their gameplay makes them similar, their physical features make them similar players as well. Russell is 6'0 and 200lb with Torres being at the exact same weight but only an inch taller.
Another thing that makes me compare Torres to Russell is what they can provide on the field. They both provide stellar defense and have great range which will allow them to make a lot of plays in the field. At the plate, they both have swing and miss in their game which hurts their batting average which is shown by Russell's current ongoing career stats of 338 hits over 385 strikeouts with an average of .239. While they do have swing and miss, both of them have a considerable amount of power and can absolutely crush it when they get all of it.
Expect Torres to be a similar player to the Yankees as Russell is to the Cubs. In a season from Torres, expect to see around 15 HR, 85 RBIs with an average of around .260-.275. He will also bring decent speed to the Yankees lineup as he has the capability to steal 20 bags a season and whether he plays middle infield or the hot corner, he will be a spectacular defender.
