Yankees fans shouldn’t put extra pressure on Gleyber Torres

As if Yankees No. 1 prospect, Gleyber Torres, doesn’t have enough to live up to in terms of filling out his enormous potential, fans now expect his ascension to the majors to ignite a somewhat listless team.

On Wednesday, April 18, Gleyber Torres can be promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Bronx because the Yankees will have officially secured an extra year of low-cost service time. How much, you ask?

The Yanks will have Gleyber in their stead until at least 2024 when at 27, the infielder will still likely be outside his peak performance years.

Similiar to what the Braves are doing right now with the No. 1 overall prospect, Ronald Acuna, and the Cubs did with Kris Bryant back in 2015, like it or not, manipulating service time is a part of the game.

No one truly knows what the future holds for any player; however, when a young talent garners a high ranking from the folks at Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, it’s traditionally worth the gamble of a briefly extended stay in the minors.

Currently splitting time between second base and third base, Torres has excelled at the plate during the first seven games of the Triple-A season.

Torres is currently 10-for-27 (.370/.379/.556) with a triple, homer and six RBI. Although he has struck out seven times, Torres has put his rusty Spring Training effort behind him (7-for-32 with 10 strikeouts in 13 games).

With the big league club sputtering out of the gate, highlighted by the ineptness of Tyler Wade and Miguel Andujar at the plate, not to mention losing some key starters to injury, namely infielder Brandon Drury, Gleyber Watch 2018 has begun.

Unfortunately, the Yankees failed to capitalize on Wednesday night’s bruhaha at Fenway. As the old saying goes, momentum is only as good as the next day’s starter. And Sonny Gray wasn’t very good, although I’m hoping the driving rain had something to do with his lack of effectiveness on the mound.

So as the Yanks search for something to jumpstart this underachieving bunch (there’s no need to remind me we’re 13 games into the season), it’s only a matter of time until the No. 6 best MLB prospect gets his first crack at the big time.

But before that, there’s something every person that reps an interlocking NY hat needs to do: pump the breaks on Gleyber being the savior of the 2018 season.

Look, I hope Torres is the real deal. From what I’ve watched, live and in-person, he has all the tools to succeed a the next level. But even some of the most highly-regarded prospects in the history of the game have landed upon the majors with a thud.

More from Yankees News

• Aaron Judge’s influence on Carlos Rodón shows he’s more powerful than Yankees
• Yankees sign 2022 Red Sox reliever, invite him to spring training
• Yankees trade Lucas Luetge for 2 intriguing Braves prospects after DFA
• Never forget Miguel Andújar wrecked Yankees’ Nolan Arenado trade
• Diamondbacks outfielder’s comment on Carlos Rodón’s IG raises eyebrows

Three of the most prominent names to struggle during their first tastes of the bigs were Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout (now arguably the best player of his generation) and former No. 1 draft pick, Dansby Swanson.

All ranked higher than Torres at their time of initial call-up, none launched their respective club to the playoffs during that first season (we’re still waiting to see what Swanson’s really capable of).

In 2011 at age 19, Trout played in 40 games, hitting .220/.281/.390 with five home runs, 16 RBI and a 30:9 K:BB ratio in 123 at-bats. Though he showed flashes of greatness, it was clear to see Trout was overmatched versus more experienced shooters.

One year removed from college ball at Vanderbilt, Swanson performed exceptionally well towards the end of the 2016 season, slashing .302/.361/.442 with three homers and 17 RBI in just 129 at-bats.

Unfortunately, in a sign that he was perhaps rushed to the majors, Swanson was briefly demoted to Triple-A last season, as the then 23-year-old compiled a .232/.312/.324 slash with six dingers and 51 RBI.

Now I’m not blind to the fact that the very best prospects are that because they are capable of making the necessary changes to succeed in the bigs. But expecting Gleyber to replicate the type of impact Gary Sanchez had in 2016 is asking too much too soon from a guy with 381 career minor league games under his belt.

By comparison, El Gary saw 639 contests outside the majors.

Admittedly, we can all hope for the best, but we’ve already seen what a wish and prayer gets you only 13 games into the new season; a 6-7 record.

The same fans that anointed Miguel Andujar as the Yankees’ opening day third baseman after a handful of Spring Training home runs are the same ones now calling for his replacement from Torres.

You’d do well to remember that the gulf in class from minor league pitching to major league is enormous. It’s the equivalent in football of going from the ACC to the NFL. That’s why I’ve never gotten off the Manny Machado to the Bronx train.

I fully support Gleyber and want to see him become the Yankees’ second baseman for the next 15 years or so; but in no way, shape or form am I expecting him to carry this team to the promised land in his first season.

Nor should he, not with the collection of bullpen arms and explosive bats, general manager, Brian Cashman has assembled.

However, while those two segments of the club continue to figure it out, should Torres get the call, the potential exists for him to press.

Next: Can Boone be first manager with no experience to win it all?

It’s only natural that the kid will want to impress — to prove his worth to his new teammates. I’d simply rather see the organization let Torres get his feet wet once Giancarlo Stanton and company figure it out for themselves.