Days after being optioned to the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, top prospect Gleyber Torres smacked his first home run of the spring.
For the first time this spring, New York Yankees‘ fans caught a glimpse of 21-year old prospect Gleyber Torres rounding the bases Friday afternoon.
Batting third and playing second base, Torres knocked the ball over the right-field wall in his first minor league at-bat of the spring. The infielder finished the day off going 2-for-3 with the home run and a double against the Indianapolis Indians, Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate. He even displayed some nifty moves defensively with a backhand grab.
Torres’ 2018 MLB Spring Training didn’t go as planned after only grabbing four hits in 25 at-bats. Torres missed a good amount of time in the 2017 campaign after having Tommy John surgery.
According to NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty, Torres is merely waiting for the next opportunity and will go wherever the club needs him to be.
“It’s not often you see nine months of no games and come back perfect,” Torres said. “I’m human. I’ll stay focused and go wherever they tell me and wait for another opportunity.”
Despite this only being a spring training home run, Torres looked solid after not being on the field for some time.
Yankees’ newly appointed skipper Aaron Boone spoke a bit about Torres’ progression and believes it’s only “matter of time”.
There’s no doubt in Boone’s mind about the type of player Torres is, he just wants him to find his swing again.
“Obviously he’s about as highly touted as anyone, and that’s only been confirmed in my eyes and it may even be taken to another level,” Boone said. “There’s no question to me the kind of player he is and is going to be.
Boone also commented on Torres’ mindset of always wanting to prove something at every bat, an attitude that sits well in the Yankee culture.
A lot of eyes were raised when Torres got sent down from the big league spring training, but from the looks of everything– Torres is making his strides towards a positive year.
