After a dismal start to the season, New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres is finally trending in the right direction. Torres’s average was just .182 after the Yankees’ April 20th win over the Atlanta Braves, but now, he’s raised it to over .230.
Over the last nine games, Torres has hit .306 with three RBIs, three walks, and just four strikeouts. He has three extra-base hits in that span, including a two-strike, two-out double in the ninth inning on Thursday against the Orioles to tie the game. Although the team eventually lost in extra innings, Torres’s hit was likely the most clutch hit of the young season and a huge confidence boost for the fourth-year player.
Torres has also shown improvement on defense as he’s raised his dWAR up to 0.5 with three defensive runs saved through 24 games at shortstop. Earlier in the season, Torres had negative numbers in both categories, so this is a welcome sign that he can succeed at shortstop down the road.
The only cause of concern that remains with Torres right now is his lack of power numbers. His OPS just surpassed the .600 mark against the Orioles, and he still has a lot of work to raise it to near his career average of .816. Torres still hasn’t hit a home run this season, and this comes after a 2020 campaign with just three home runs. However, Torres is slugging more doubles of late, so it seems that some home runs could be coming soon. The Yankees return home for nine games beginning tonight against the Detroit Tigers, so Yankee Stadium would be a great place to start putting the ball over the wall.
It’s great to see that Gleyber Torres is headed back in the right direction. Unfortunately, players like Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier are still struggling, but maybe Torres’s improved play can spark a fire for some of the other guys.