Yankees Promote Top Prospect Gleyber Torres To Triple-A Scranton
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The player many believe is the crown jewel of the Yankees' embarrassment of riches in their minor league system is on the move.
Gleyber Torres, who was acquired last year in the trade that sent closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The 20-year-old infielder quickly made an impression at Double-A Trenton, putting together a .273/.367/.496 slash line with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 32 games.
Torres will join other heralded prospects Clint Frazier, Dustin Fowler, and Tyler Wade at Scranton.
The first-place Yankees already have young sluggers Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez contributing mightily, and expect injured Greg Bird to get his act in gear in the coming weeks. Torres, who is primarily a shortstop but could play second or even third base in the majors, has never been a problem defensively and his offense has come along a lot quicker than many thought possible.
"Since we got (Torres) in the organization, he has shown the ability to give quality at-bats every single day," Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo told NJ.com on Sunday. "He's shown some power, he's played exceptional defense, throwing has been accurate and he's getting better and better on the basepaths. All the things we want him to check off on his way to becoming a major league player, he's been doing it for us."
All that said, however, the Yankees tend to be deliberate when it comes to their kids, so unless they have no choice, either due to an injury or prolonged inconsistency by one of their veterans, the sure-handed Torres will likely be developed for a fair amount of time at the Triple-A level.
The Yankees open a four-game series with Kansas City on Monday night in the Bronx.
