New York Yankees: Bring Up Gleyber Torres Too

At least one comment on a recent article, 3 Reasons Why The New York Yankees Should Have A Fire Sale indicated that the real young ones like Gleyber Torres should finish the season at Class A and not be brought up. I don’t understand why that has to be.

In the article cited above, I argued that when September 1 rolls around and the rosters expand. The New York Yankees should bring up all of their recent talent haul from trades, plus anyone else in their farm system they see in their future and let them play together for a month. This would include the highly touted shortstop the Yankees got from the Chicago Cubs in the Aroldis Chapman deal, Gleyber Torres, who often is referred to as only 19.

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According to Yahoo Answers, there have been a total of 207 players who reached the majors before their 19th birthday. The list includes names like Alex Rodriguez, Jimmie Foxx, Ed Kranepool, Tim McCarver, and Harmon Killebrew. That’s two members of the Hall Of Fame and one candidate likely to join them.

Granted, Torres is far from the hall, but he’s no spring chicken when it comes to playing professional baseball. He’s played in more than 500 games and logged more than 1200 at-bats on the minor league level. He started at 17 years old.

They make it sound like a young player will self-combust if you bring him up too soon. Hogwash. Torres should be in the Bronx in September 1

As the argument goes with these very young prospects, you shouldn’t rush them. They need to play every day and not sit on the big club’s bench. But, that’s exactly the point. They need to play every day with the guys they’ll soon take the field with sooner rather than later.

Torres or anyone like him will self-combust when they see a 98 mph fastball or a bat breaking David Price slider for the first time. In fact, you want them to see that because it shows them the hard work that lies ahead to reach the highest plateaus while playing in the big leagues. It’s called learning. If their work habits don’t meet what will be required to reach that level, well then, you have an answer to one of the biggest challenges facing a young prospect. Because then, you will know that he is not ready , but for all the wrong reasons.

Moreover, having Gleyber play with Sanchez and Judge allows them to get used to each other both on and off the field. They eat together, they play Fantasy Football together, they travel together, and most importantly, they go through the ups and downs in a game where the best hitters fail seven out of every ten times they come to the plate.

Let Mark Teixeria, Brian McCann and Brett Gardner mentor the newbies and show them what a big leaguer needs to succeed. They already have the tools and skills a ballplayer needs, lest maybe some refinement. But, what they don’t have is a feel for what it’s like in “The Show”.

Here’s a little taste of what Torres promises to bring to the Bronx:

To reiterate, Torres is a professional baseball player; he has been one for three full years now. He may bend, but he won’t break. They (teams like the Yankees) manage these kids like a helicopter mother manages her four-year-old. It’s not necessary, and it’s even counterproductive. Get him up here. We already know what Didi Gregorius can do, which by the way isn’t bad. But let’s give the kids like 19-year-old Torres a chance too. We just might be surprised.