MLB: 8 hitters poised to bounce back from ugly 2020

7 of 8

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 14: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees connects on a fifth inning single against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 14, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 10-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

2. Gleyber Torres

We all remember the comments Brian Cashman made about Torres during the 2020 season in regards to him being out of shape upon returning for summer camp. Torres is ready to put that behind him and get back to the numbers he knows he can put up this season.

What plagued Torres in 2020 was mostly his plate discipline. Once he stopped swinging at everything he saw, his wOBA went back up.

The only problem was when his plate discipline increased, he ended up swapping power for a higher walk rate and lower strikeout rate. That’s not the kind of hitter he is.

The increase in breaking balls he saw last year had a lot to do with those changes, because it’s not like he wasn’t hitting the ball hard, he just wasn’t barreling balls at all. His barrel rate dropped from 10 percent in 2019 to three percent in 2020.

ZiPS is actually really high on Torres in 2021 as they project him to have a 133 wRC+ which would be a career high by nearly 10 points. So long as his quality of contact returns to normal, Torres should be fine this season and be a key cog in the Yankees lineup.

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