The New York Yankees may not have had Gleyber Torres for the past few weeks but that hasn’t stopped him from being recognized by fans.
First, Gary Sanchez was in contention for the AL Rookie of the Year. Then, Aaron Judge followed up the next season by winning. This year, Gleyber Torres might be next in line.
It seems that Torres is well on his way to bringing home a Rookie of the Year award, as Fox Sports: MLB reported Torres the first half AL Rookie of the Year on Friday.
The @Yankees' Gleyber Torres is your first half AL Rookie of the Year!
As voted on by the MLB on FOX fans. pic.twitter.com/TVSTVwCICV
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 21, 2018
While the award was voted on by fans, it seems that Torres has made quite an impression on fans of the sport across the United States.
And for good reason. Prior to his stint on the disabled list, Torres has a .294 batting average in 63 games in his first taste of the major league level. Not only that, but he’s found a power stroke, launching 15 home runs on the season.
To say his bat is truly missed in the lineup is an understatement. Torres is hitting a respectable .333 with runners in scoring position and is a huge fan of the three-run shot in clutch situations.
The highly touted prospect has made a splash in his trek to the major leagues and the Yankees have to be thanking the Chicago Cubs and Aroldis Chapman for that. Torres came over via trade in July 2016 so the Cubs could have Chapman as a rental in their playoff push. While it paid off for the Cubs, it clearly was a great long-term investment for the Bombers, who eventually re-signed Chapman that offseason.
Naturally, the ROY conversation has to have Shohei Ohtani involved but Torres has made such a significant impact on his contending squad.
Fans, this time you definitely got it right. Let’s see if the Baseball Writers’ Association of America can get it right too when the time comes.
