The MLB has a plethora of young talent, with names like Ronald Acuña Jr, Juan Soto, and Rafael Devers, it has become a more youthful game. With these players having breakout seasons in 2019, they’ve emerged as superstars. While they deserve all the hype they get, it often leaves a player out. Make room for the new SS for the New York Yankees, Gleyber Torres. While at first people may believe he’s already a very good player, it’s clear that he is someone who will only get better. With him now playing his natural position and having 2 years under his belt, Torres is about to make everyday Gleyber Day.
Run Producer
Out of 241 players with a minimum of 300 Plate Appearances, Gleyber Torres was 56th in wRC+. This means he’s in the 77th percentile, and that makes him a top run producer in the league. His wRC+ was 125 meaning he was 25% above average at run-producing. This run-producing ability allows for Gleyber to succeed, and at the young age of 23, he’s only going to get better at the plate.
Power Surge
Gleyber Torres is a fantastic power hitter, with 38 home runs and a .535 SLG %, he is clearly a premier slugger in the game. An interesting stat that can determine power is ISO, (Isolated Power) as it only equates for Extra Base Hits by subtractive batting average from SLG%. Gleyber Torres had a .256 ISO, which was the 27th best mark in the MLB. This makes Gleyber fantastic at hitting the for more than one base, which makes him a threat for pitchers at the plate
Defensive Potential at SS
Gleyber Torres is known as a lackluster defender, but that’s at 2B. He’s naturally a SS, and it shows with his defensive metrics:
2B
UZR:- 12.0
DRS: -8
OAA:-4
SS
UZR: -4.6
DRS: 1
OAA: -3
There’s definitely a case to be made that Gleyber is a much better SS than 2B, and with more reps, at SS he could end up being an average defender, which is an improvement. This improvement to defense will also help the Yankees, as their middle infield combo will be aided with Gold Glover DJ LeMahieu at 2B. Even if Gleyber Torres is only average at SS, he still will fare better than the below-average play at 2B.
Predicting For 2020
Gleyber Torres is shaping up to be a stud in 2020, and really be the MVP candidate he can be. I see Gleyber being even better than 2019, even receiving MVP votes.
.270/.345/.560
.905 OPS
40 Home Runs
105 RBIs
140 wRC+
2 DRS
-0.7 UZR
-1 OAA
5.4 fWAR
What do you think Gleyber Torres will do? Will, he ve an MVP candidate in 2019?