Yankees: Gleyber Torres, Greg Bird Headline Solid Spring Training

The best part of the New York Yankees winning their way through spring training has been seeing the Baby Bombers be an integral component. It’s part of a larger trend that began in 2015 when some of the team’s top prospects started breaking through.

Yankees fans have since been waiting for other senior and middling farm hands to make their way to the Bronx. Then, when the team reeled in a haul of prospects for Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, the anticipation grew still.

This spring has been tremendous for those players, some of whom are playing well enough to prove major league readiness, move up on the depth chart or even win starting jobs. Here’s a look at some of the team’s biggest successes this March.

Gleyber Torres, SS/2B

Forget for a moment that we’re talking about one of the three or four best prospects in the game right now. Torres is a 20-year-old non-roster invitee hitting for a .423 AVG and a 1.371 OPS. Sure, he’s only had 26 at-bats, but the Yankees haven’t had a prospect this young and this exciting quite some time.

Greg Bird, 1B

With an absurd .438/.526/1.558 slash line, Bird has surpassed expectations and is probably causing a lot of fans to get their hopes up for him this season. He’s still just 24 and coming off missing an entire season. If anything, his spring training performance has been a massive sigh of relief for everyone from Brian Cashman to the bleacher creatures. Disregard the stats (I know, it’s hard) and just consider what a victory it is for Bird just to be healthy and ready to go for Opening Day.

Kyle Higashioka, C

No one told this guy that Austin Romine was a shoe-in to back up Gary Sanchez at catcher. Despite a 1.172 OPS and two dingers this spring, Higashioka will probably start the season at Triple-A. But he opened some eyes. Romine is doing enough to keep his spot on the 25-man roster, but this is a player who will be knocking on the door soon enough.

Billy McKinney, OF

Like Higashioka, McKinney is forcing fans to pay attention. McKinney is either going to start the season at Double- or Triple-A, but if it’s the former, he won’t be there long if he continues to hit like this. A non-roster invitee who took Tyler Austin’s spot, McKinney is a former top prospect in need of a bounce back season. If it happens this year, he could leap up the Yankees’ prospect list this time next year.

Honorable mentions

Michael Pineda, SP

His spot in the rotation was never in doubt, but he has been peak-Big-Mike this spring. He’s always been someone who pitches well in March, but it’s a good start to build upon for Pineda.

Luis Severino, SP

Over three games, he has nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings and a .207 AVG against. Playing in the World Baseball Classic is limiting his role with the Yankees, but he’s shown some promising flashes. It’s not enough to get excited about, but it’s probably sufficient to grab a rotation job.

Aaron Judge, RF

His stats aren’t as eye-popping as Bird’s or Torres’, but he already has what will certainly be one of the most eye-popping homers of the season. Judge’s .270/.357/.871 slash line and 24 percent strikeout rate are looking just fine after his disastrous major-league debut last season. He’s struggled at first each time he was called up through the farm system, so this may well be his adjustment period.

Could Gleyber Torres Make the Yankees Opening Day Roster?

In his first Spring Training with the New York Yankees, Gleyber Torres is hitting like a seasoned veteran, not a 20-year-old prospect.

Dustin Fowler, OF

The numbers don’t quite stack up to McKinney’s, but he’s also a non-roster invitee making some noise. An 18th round draft pick in 2013, Fowler has been steadily ascending through the farm system since, and it looks like he’ll continue the trend in 2017.

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The Yankees That Are Winning The Spring

By Rusty Westerholm | Mar 19, 2017