New York Yankees state of the system: Second Base

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Ronald Torreyes or Tyler Wade? Gleyber Torres or make a trade? There are many questions surrounding the Yankees second base job. Fortunately, the minor league system is overflowing with answers.

Gleyber Torres might open the season in Triple-A — he might not. But it’s consensus that he’ll soon have the Yankees, big league, second base job one way or the other.

We all know what Gleyber can do. Baseball’s No. 6 prospect was batting .309/.406/.457 in Scranton before the season-ending injury. He’s got power. He’s got speed. He recognizes pitches shockingly well for a 21-year-old.

He’s a terrific fielder with quick hands and a fire hose arm at three infield spots. Realistically, he could also play shortstop or third base in the major leagues. But with Didi Gregorius entrenched at short and Miguel Andujar on the way at third base, Torres seems best suited for second base in 2018.

The Yankees can, and probably will delay his free agency by keeping him in the minors for a few weeks. Sucks, but that’s what teams do with their top prospects.

There are plenty of stopgap options available both by trade and in free agency. But the Yankees already have two players on their roster — Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade — who deserve legitimate playing time.

It’s hard to believe Torreyes is only 25-years-old. And it’s not just because he looks like he’s 40.

Torreyes has occupied the major league roster wire-to-wire each of the past two seasons. He was a decent utility infielder in 2016 but took a sizeable step forward in 2017.

Between the injuries of Gregorius and Starlin Castro, Torreyes was pressed into 108 games and delivered a .295 batting average. He doesn’t walk or hit for much power, but he’s a good defender at three infield spots.

Plus, he reliably puts the bat on the ball. And I don’t care what the metrics say — hitting into outs is still better than whiffing. I was advocating for the Yanks’ starting Torreyes at DH in the Postseason because they badly needed someone besides Brett Gardner to reliably make contact.

Ronald Torreyes vs. Tyler Wade

We don’t know how Ronald Torreyes will fare as a major league starter. He did a solid job of filling in for Gregorius last April. Annoyingly, Torreyes will always be overlooked (no pun intended) because of his stature (he’s listed at 5’8″ which is at least three inches too tall).

But he’s silenced detractors wherever he’s gone.

At a minimum, Torreyes will spend a third season as the team’s backup infielder. And if we’re talking bench players, give me Toe over almost anyone else at his position.

The Yankees also have the option of playing Torreyes at third, starting Andujar in Triple-A and rolling with Tyler Wade at second base.

Wade’s tools are intriguing. He’s a speed demon (26 steals in 85 games with Triple-A Scranton last year) and a good contact hitter (.310 AVG). He draws walks (.382 OBP). He’s got 10-15 homer power, and his legs allow him to stretch out extra-base hits.

Like Torres and Torreyes, Wade can play three infield positions. But he can also play the outfield, which sets him apart as a real utility man.

Wade, 23, struggled in sporadic playing time with the Bombers last summer. He received 58 at-bats, scattered across 30 games. There were long stretches when he didn’t play at all. At one point, he went two weeks (from July 9-23) without touching the field.

I know the All-Star break was in there somewhere, but come on. How can you expect Wade to hit if he doesn’t face live pitching for half a month?

MLB ranked Wade as the team’s 15th-best prospect heading into last season. That seems a little low. We don’t yet know what Wade will be in the major leagues. But if he hits his ceiling, he could be an All-Star or at least a versatile starter.

Wade has the potential to be an invaluable all-around contributor who can bat at either the top or the bottom of your order.

It’s possible general manager Brian Cashman acquires another big league infielder before the start of Spring Training. But even if he doesn’t, there are in-house choices. Although they’re mostly untested, the upside with each of them — Torres, Torreyes and Wade — is as apparent as it is significant.

Triple-A

If Gleyber Torres opens the year in Scranton, he’ll be part of a talented crew of middle infielders.

Four-year major league veteran Jace Peterson is coming to Spring Training on a minors deal.

Peterson began his career in San Diego before the Padres dealt him to Atlanta in the Justin Upton trade before 2015. He was underwhelming in two seasons as the Braves’ second baseman and was relegated to reserve duty following the acquisition of Brandon Phillips in 2017.

Peterson is your standard highly-athletic, slap-hitting middle infielder. His best offensive season was 2016 when he hit .254/.350/.366 with seven home runs.

Jace has a keen eye at the plate. He walks more than 10% of the time, and he figured out how to cut back on strikeouts. But he doesn’t steal bases or hit for much power.

The Braves utilized Peterson at all four infield positions in 2017 and even gave him some time in the outfield. His experience and versatility make him a contender to win a roster spot out of camp, although he would need to be added to the 40-man.

The Yankees’ signing of Peterson reminded me of last spring when they brought Ruben Tejada to camp. Tejada earnestly competed for a spot on the Yankees’ bench but was dispatched to Scranton, never to return.

I briefly discussed Billy Fleming in the first base preview. He’s a 25-year-old Pennsylvanian whom the Yankees inked as an undrafted free agent following three years at West Virginia University.

Fleming spent most of 2017 in Double-A, although he reached Scranton for 16 games at the end of the season. He can’t play short, but he split time evenly between the other three infield positions.

Last year, Fleming registered 28 starts at first, 30 starts at second and 27 starts at third base.

He’s an ok right-handed bat. He posted a line of .254/.300/.411 with 10 home runs and only 44 strikeouts in 338 at-bats across three levels in 2017.

Fleming likely opens the season as Scranton’s all-purpose utilityman. His versatility makes him a candidate for a midseason call-up although he would need to be added to the 40-man.

Double-A

Billy Fleming’s main competition for playing time will be Abiatal Avelino. The 22-year-old hails from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican — the so-called “cradle of the shortstop.”

However, Avelino played the bulk of his innings at second base last summer.

He split time across three levels. While he handled Double-A pitching, Avelino struggled after a promotion to Scranton, batting .213 in 20 games.

Another toolsy hyper-athlete, Avelino is more promise than polish. But he’s still quite young and showed adeptness at three infield stations. If he can raise his batting average, Avelino should turn himself into a real prospect for 2019.

He’s probably the least likely of this bunch to receive major league playing time in 2018. With the Yankees’ surplus of infielders, Avelino might soon find himself with another organization — perhaps as part of a deal for a starting pitcher.

The real deal?

He flies a little under the radar, but Nick Solak is one of the best second-base-only prospects in all of baseball.

MLB ranked him at No. 8 in the Yankees’ system overall at the end of the year. And it’s easy to see why.

The 23-year-old Louisville alum owns a .305/.393/.441 career batting line in two seasons split between Staten Island, Tampa and Trenton. In 194 games, he’s crushed 15 homers and swiped 22 bases. Plus, he’s walked nearly one out of every eight times he’s come to bat.

There are concerns about his ability to stick to second base long-term. Some scouts believe he will ultimately wind up in the outfield. But offensively, Solak profiles as a prototypical second baseman.

He’s a smallish right-handed hitter with a sharp, fluid swing and gap power to all fields. He’s a line-drive hitter with a little pop and a little speed. Ideally, he’d bat second in your order.

He’s not as dynamic as some of the Yankees’ other top prospects. But Solak is a solid, dependable player.

Solak finished 2017 with 30 games at Double-A, so he’ll likely return to Trenton to begin 2018. Look for him to make his Major League debut in 2019.

Single-A

Gosuke Katoh, who got some love in the first base preview, played all of last season in Tampa. While it’s possible the Yankees start Katoh in Trenton, he might also benefit from a few more games at the High-A level.

Katoh broke out last year. After three mediocre summers in A-ball, he re-discovered how to hit. Katoh posted a .293/.376/.440 batting line, which is sensational for a skinny middle infielder.