Gleyber Torres is a revelation, but he needs more work before he’s a superstar
Gleyber Torres is already an excellent major league hitter, but his fielding and base running must improve if he’s going to become a star.
When the bat is in his hands Gleyber Torres has already become a star at the major league level. Unfortunately for the talented infielder, there’s more to becoming a superstar than hitting. Torres will need to significantly improve his fielding and base running if he wants to become a true Yankees great.
For the record, there’s still plenty of time for Torres to grow all facets of his game. He’s a 21-year-old player who is playing his first season in the majors. Expecting him to arrive in the Bronx as a perfectly finished product was always a flawed expectation.
At the plate, Torres is already a special player. He’s hitting .307 in his 127 at bats. More importantly, he’s found a way to add real power to his game. His 10 home runs this year could well be a bit of an aberration, but there’s no question he is hitting the ball with real authority. Torres could slot comfortably into the middle of the Yankees order right now. There’s no reason to think he won’t continue to improve as the years go by.
Unfortunately, Torres has been a very poor second basemen in the field. Advanced analytics of his work with the glove identify him as one of the worst middle infielders in the league. His traditional statistics don’t do him any favors either. Eight errors in just 37 games is just bad.
The good news about his fielding is that he’s shown the ability to make really difficult plays. His range at second base is well above average. As a former shortstop, he has more than enough arm strength for the position. It isn’t the challenging plays that are giving Torres trouble.
Instead, he’s making a real mess of simple plays. Watching him over the last week it’s clear that his attention in the field isn’t sufficient. He’s airmailing throws over the first basemen when he fails to stop and set his feet. He’s bobbling ground balls when he fails to track them into his glove. These are errors that should have been ironed out at the minor league level. Ultimately, Torres’ electric skills have allowed him to skate by without addressing these fundamentals in the field.
The story with his base running is the same. There’s a thin line between aggression and foolishness. Torres needs to find that line. He continues to push for extra bases when there’s no real opportunity for success. Even worse, he’s managed to get picked off several times by failing to react quickly to a pitcher’s pick-off move. Again, these are easily fixable things, but they need to be fixed.
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No one should bet against Gleyber Torres emerging as a legitimate superstar for the Yankees. His talent level is off the charts in quite a few respects. It’s time to acknowledge the fact that he isn’t there yet though. Torres must improve his mental approach to fielding and base running to earn that sort of superstar status. It’s something that will come in time for the electric infielder.