Yankees call up Tyler Wade in wake of Starlin Castro injury

As the Yankees await the MRI results on Starlin Castro‘s strained right hamstring, they are being proactive by calling up 22-year-old prospect Tyler Wade.

The injury bug that has inflicted the Yankees all season long has officially become a pandemic. In the third inning of Monday night’s contest against the White Sox, slugging second baseman Starlin Castro pulled up lame to first base — the result of a strained right hamstring suffered after hustling out of the box on a ground ball.

Castro was immediately pulled from the game, but afterward said he didn’t feel any pain while walking. Regardless, we’ll soon know the duration of his absence.

In the meantime, Tyler Wade has been added to the 40-man roster, presumably to back up Ronald Torreyes, who will likely get first shot as the everyday second baseman.

In my opinion, this should be the other way around, as Torreyes has proven to be most effective in small doses. Besides, as the organization’s No. 11 prospect, Wade has shown that he’s coming into his own as an all-around threat.

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Wade, the Yankees’ fourth-round pick in the 2013 amateur draft is having a career year with the stick at Triple-A Scranton, slashing .313/.390/.444 with five home runs and 25 RBI, while racking up 16 doubles, 35 walks and successfully stealing 24 bases out of 28 attempts in just 70 games.

Over the span of his minor league career, Wade has played a total of 89 games at second base, as compared to 372 at shortstop, but has seen time all around the diamond this season — including all three outfield positions and third base.

Earlier this month, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson told the Times Leader that he wouldn’t be surprised if the left-handed hitting Wade stole a starting position away from someone at the big league level one day soon.

"“He’d be a guy that you’d think of like a Pete Rose or a guy that’s not high on the skill-set (not) like an Aaron Judge or a — we have another kid down in the minor league system — (Miguel) Andujar, these have with the big skills, big bodies, strong, like Clint Frazier,” Jackson said. “You look at them and go, ‘Oh, wow.’ Tyler, he’s got a big heart. You’re going to have hell stopping him.”"

If Castro is deactivated for a minimum of 10 days, as many expect — hopefully, Wade will garner a few starts against right-handed pitching.

As one AL scout told the New York Post:

"“He’ll be able to plug the hole,” said a scout who has seen Wade play this season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barres. “His speed helps him more on the offensive side. His bat works better when he stays in the ‘Put the ball in play’ mode.”"

Next: Here comes Jacoby!

All in all, the kid has a ton of upside. The Yankees just need to give him the opportunity to prove his worth. You know, kind of like they’ve done with Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Jordan Montgomery, Tyler Austin… should I keep going?

What a wonderful thing it is to have an abundance of talent at the minor league level to rely upon in times like these. And now, it’s Tyler Wade’s turn.