Gleyber Torres has turned into a new man for the New York Yankees, as after a disappointing first half that put his spot on the team in jeopardy, he has set the tone for this offense. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge enjoyed dominant seasons, but the lack of a consistent leadoff hitter limited the Yankees’ ability to score runs when those two did their damage, that was until Torres was moved to the top of the lineup. He started the season as their leadoff hitter but struggled and was quickly displaced from that spot in the offense, but a late surge that has carried into October has changed everything.
The offense is humming with Torres getting on-base at a high clip, and we saw him set up a run-scoring opportunity in the first with a leadoff double and also set up a knockout blow from Aaron Judge against stud reliever Hunter Gaddis with a line drive single. Sporting a .433 OBP and 170 wRC+ in the playoffs thus far, one could argue his turnaround changed the season.
Gleyber Torres’ Torrid Finish to the Season Catalyzed the Yankees’ Surge
On August 14th, Gleyber Torres had a putrid 89 wRC+ while being a firmly below-average defender at second base, and all of this was during his walk year. You couldn’t draw up a worse outcome for the 26-year-old infielder, who saw his market plummet as there was no chance the Yankees would consider bringing him back and teams would be wary of Torres’ outlook beyond 2024.
A slow infielder with a bad glove? You can kiss any long-term security goodbye with that outcome, but Gleyber Torres would shockingly move up in the lineup to the leadoff spot in Detroit. While the Yankees would drop that series in the midst of a summer spiral, Torres would seemingly lock in as their offense’s tone-setter, going on a tear that would turn his season around entirely.
With a .386 OBP and 142 wRC+, the Yankees got the production they sorely needed atop their lineup, and it only continued in October. Gleyber Torres has a .400 OBP and 170 wRC+ in the postseason thus far, seeing plenty of pitches and helping the Yankees chase starters out of the game.
His approach is not just resulting in better patience, but it’s also helped correct the issues he had doing damage on contact:
Improvements to his quantity and quality of contact rates have made Gleyber Torres a legitimate threat at the plate; he may not be the kind of hitter that wins an MVP, but he has all the tools to provide a great leadoff at-bat. The improvement to his pitch vision has allowed him to control the zone and swing at his pitch, and he has enough power to get the ball out to right field regardless of location.
A sinker in at his hands is still a pitch he has the bat control and vision to shoot out to right field, and while you’d want him to pull contact in the air, this allows him to collect hits and get on-base. Gleyber Torres hasn’t sold out for power; he’s sold out for the opportunity to give Juan Soto and Aaron Judge a chance to drive a run in.
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Would the Yankees have won the AL East if Gleyber Torres didn’t get hot at the end of the year? Imagine how hosting a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals might have gone, especially if the team threw their best arms in the penultimate series of the season against Baltimore. Would their season have ended there? Would Baltimore have continued their regular season success against the Yankees in an ALDS matchup?
Instead, the Bronx Bombers travel to Cleveland for Game 3 of the ALCS with a 2-0 advantage in hand. They control their destiny; and Gleyber Torres has played a massive part in the fact that they sit just two wins away from the World Series. It would be their first trip to the World Series since 2009, but the focus remains on doing a job in Cleveland.
For Gleyber Torres, this can affect his market value dramatically. Instead of a slow infielder with questionable decision-making skills, he could be viewed as the a viable leadoff option that can set the table for a pennant-contending lineup. The Yankees may not retain Torres this season, but he has certainly built-up his value on the market, especially considering how it’s translated in the postseason.