Yankees Gleyber Torres celebrated as part of ‘Young Stars Week’

From April 22-26, Major League Baseball is celebrating ‘Young Stars Week.’ The first talent to be highlighted is 22-year-old Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres.

Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres had a monster rookie season. And had it not been for a hip strain that kept him out of the lineup for nearly a month, there was a real chance he could have walked away with AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Unfortunately, Torres never fully recovered from the hip and groin issues that plagued him during the remainder of his freshman season, and there were times when he truly labored at the plate.

Even still, the crown jewel of the 2016 Aroldis Chapman trade, made his first All-Star team while finishing with a stellar line: .271/.340/.480, 16 doubles, 24 home runs and 77 RBIs.

Like most young players, Torres still has a few loose ends in his overall game to tighten up — like a 122:42 K:BB ratio and 17 errors in the field.

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However, as of April 22, Torres has only officially been a big leaguer for one full season — as his recent tweet commemorated. Yet, he’s already accomplished quite a bit during his brief time in pinstripes.

At 21 years, 144 days old, Torres became the youngest Yankee in team history to hit a walk-off home run. The previous mark was set by Mickey Mantle, who was 41 days older.

Torres also became the youngest Bomber to have two walk-off RBIs in the same season, the second-most home runs in a season before turning 21 (Joe DiMaggio is first with 29), second in multi-homer games to Joe D’s three, and was the first player under 21 since teammate Giancarlo Stanton in 2011 to homer in four straight contests.

One of the newest Yankees, pitcher James Paxton, gushed over Torres when speaking to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

"“A talented player. He can do it all,” Yankees left-hander James Paxton said. “He hits really well and plays great defense. Overall, he’s a really good player. And now that I know him, a great guy.”"

The AL Rookie of the Month in May of 2018, Torres has gotten off to a slow start through the first 22 games of 2019. After jumping out of the gate, slugging .714 during the first two weeks, manager Aaron Boone promptly moved him to the cleanup spot.

Partially to do with the Yankees rash of injuries, and somewhat overzealousness on Boone’s behalf, Torres, looked in the mirror and tried to envision Aaron Judge, when that truly isn’t his game.

From April 8-19, Torres struggled mightily, culminating in a 30 percent strikeout rate, .192 BABIP and .263 SLG. Clearly, Torres is pressing, as his zone swinging rate has increased 17 percent while his walk rate sits at just 2.5 percent.

Thus far, the Venezuelan product is slashing .238/.275/.429 with four doubles, four home runs, nine RBIs and a 23:5 K:BB ratio.

Without a doubt, once some of the 13 injured Yankees return to the lineup, Torres should feel much less pressure at the dish. And I truly believe when he is re-installed as the team’s everyday second baseman opposite Didi Gregorius, we’ll see the full return of 2018 midseason Gleyber.

Next: Clint Frazier better be up to stay

While I understand positional versatility is a bonus to any 25-man roster, getting a young player accustomed to one position that he is still technically learning the finer details of, goes a long way to breeding familiarity and in turn, consistent results.

From April 22-26, Major League Baseball is celebrating ‘Young Stars Week.’ The first talent to be highlighted is 22-year-old Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres.

Schedule