Torres de Force

Gleyber Torres (NYY): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

Is there ever a good time to break into the Yankees’ infield discussion? Gleyber Torres has solidified his spot at second base for the Yankees in 2023 and has shown no sign that he should be moved. He is having one of his better seasons offensively but it is in a very different way than his initial breakout in 2019 with 38 dingers.

Speaking of dingers, Torres did all he could to keep the Yankees in front with two blasts, one a 414-foot homer and the other just 356 feet. Those were numbers eight and nine on the season, matching 2021’s total in 300 fewer plate appearances. His power is back after the 2020/2021 dip with a .203 ISO. His fly ball rate has been over 40% again in 2022 and 2023 but his HR/FB rate doubled these two seasons as well. And that is in spite of his 33.5% Hard Hit rate which is the lowest of his career.

That Hard Hit rate change comes from a major change of approach at the dish. His walk rate is 11.8% and K rate is 12.8% this season. He is making more contact all around (Swinging Strike rate down four percentage points to 8.7%) and he is swinging a touch less. More contact won’t translate to better contact but it is better than no contact usually. And he still is getting on base through more walks.

Torres is having one of the better years offensively, but it looks significantly different than anything he’s done before. If his contact can improve while keeping his new plate discipline he could jump to another level.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Wednesday

Isiah Kiner-Falefa (NYY): 2-4, 3B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Everyone’s favorite Yankee had quite a game with a 405-foot triple in his first at-bat followed by a 389-foot homer in his second. Despite worse numbers than usual, Kiner-Falefa is well underperforming his peripherals. He has a 40% Hard Hit rate. He has reduced his ground ball rate to 42.7% from well over 50%. And his BABIP is .219 which is nowhere close to the usual .300-ish mark. His ISO is over .150 when it has never been over .100 before.

Jose Siri (TB): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Jose Siri has now passed last year’s home run total in 77 fewer games. He blasted his eighth on the year 426 feet. There is some kind of magic happening in Tampa. He has the great combo of striking out a bit less, hitting the ball harder, and hitting in the air more. He stole a few more bases last year and in the minors before but has only four on the season. I would expect this to go up a bit especially since the Rays lead the league in steals. They are not afraid to give the go-ahead.

Edouard Julien (MIN): 1-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.

This Twins rookie showed some pop with a 407-foot home run in the first inning to lead it off for the Twins. He rejoined the team after Jorge Polanco went back to the IL this week. He has only 45 plate appearances now but found his way into the leadoff spot last night. He has some pop and can steal a base or two. But what stands out to me is his walk rate. It was nearly 20% in the minors across all levels. We’ll see how sticky that is up in the bigs.

Francisco Álvarez (NYM): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Álvarez belted a 390-foot home run into the wind at Wrigley for the only two runs for the Mets Wednesday night. He added a single later in the game. This was his first game since Sunday but he’s now hit three dingers in his last four games, making it six on the year. Despite being such a young catcher he is making the hard case to play as often as possible. A fun little fact, the last time a 21-year-old catcher hit six home runs in a season was Joe Mauer.

Manuel Margot (TB): 2-5, 3B, R, RBI, SB.

Margot ripped a triple and single, both hard hits, and added a hard hit ground out in the first. He’s never had power but this season his Hard Hit rate is 46.4%, by far his highest in a single season. He did snag one stolen base to make it six on the year. He steals bases consistently but never has had more than 20 in a season. With the new rules that may be broken but six still seems a bit low.

Kevin Newman (CIN): 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, SB.

I loved Newman after his breakout in 2019 hitting .308 with a 109 wRC+. He still is a ball-in-play machine but that is it. This former first-rounder has a Hard Hit rate in the 20s and a 48.4% Ground Ball rate. Sounds like a recipe for outs. He ripped a 382-foot, 104 mph double in the first inning and singled in the third bringing home three total Reds. He added his second stolen base for the season. If Newman isn’t leading the league in average, there is nothing here for your fantasy team.

Zach Neto (LAA): 3-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.

The Angels’ first overall pick in 2022 has found his way into the everyday lineup already. And he’s starting to show he belongs. In his last 19 games, his Hard Hit rate is 50%, with eight extra-base hits and a 116 wRC+. It is difficult to know what to expect from such a young raw player but he is showing he belongs so far.

Riley Greene (DET): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.

Greene had a monster day with a 112 mph dinger travelling 440 feet and a 110 mph double. This 22-year-old (gotta remember he is still so young) is off to a solid start slashing .291/.352/.434. His K rate is still 28.6% and his BABIP is .400 but he’s hitting 25% line drives with a 44% Hard Hit rate. He’s always hit 20%+ line drives over his minor league career too. He still is not hitting fly balls (only 20%) but he is start to pull the ball more often. Once he gets those balls in the air his power should explode.

Yuli Gurriel (MIA): 4-4, 3B, 2 R, RBI, SB.

Yuli hit safely in all four of his at-bats with three singles and a triple, adding his second steal on the year. As he does, his K rate is below 10% (actually better than any season since his rookie year). Everything else is in line with a normal Gurriel season. He’s just in Miami instead of Houston which is a big game-changer for fantasy stats.

Jonathan Davis (MIA): 3-4, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Jonathan Davis (not to be confused with J.D. Davis) had his first start of the season with Miami yesterday after getting traded from the Tigers on Monday. He kicked things off with a bang hitting a home run in the sixth and adding two singles. He has moved around the big leagues a lot over the last six years and never has been a solid bat. I would not expect much fantasy wise but it’s a great start in Miami.

Matt McLain (CIN): 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.

This 2021 first-round pick is tearing it up for the Reds early on this season. McLain came up on May 15th and has been electric. He is slashing .281/.378/.594 in 37 plate appearances crushing his second homer in back-to-back games. He is a power-speed threat with 12 homers and 10 steals over 38 games in Triple-A this year and 17 homers and 27 steals in Double-A last season. The Reds have a lot of young exciting talent that are trickling up to the Bigs.

Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)