Gleyber Torres Will Break Out In 2021

Better as the Season Goes On

In 2020, Gleyber Torres got off to a horrible start. His first 12 games consisted of a .178 OBP, .170 wOBA, and -1 wRC+. That start was as bad as you can get, but how did he bounce back? He had a .387 wOBA, .426 OBP, and 148 wRC+.

This isn"t the only example of his performance improving as the season went on. The young infielder had a 109 game stretch with a 135 wRC+ and 33 home runs, and with a .348 OBP and .567 SLG, he was unreal. If he"s able to play a full season next year, I think this is the version of Gleyber we will be able to see.

Improving Plate Discipline

If you look at Gleyber Torres" plate discipline over his young career his strikeout numbers have gone down every year. In 2018 he struck out 25.2% of the time, in 2019 it was 21.4% of the time, and in 2020 it was 17.5% of the time. His walk percentage is also always around 8% which is right around league average. These numbers show that the young star is developing a better presence at the plate, and with his power numbers, he could see himself adding a better OBP to his arsenal.

What Do the Advanced Stats Say?

In his career, he has a .343 xwOBA and a .351 wOBA, which is some of the better marks in the 2B/SS position. Is he gonna hurt you with the glove? No doubt, with a -15 OAA in only 824 attempts, which is just not good. At second base he"s a -4 OAA in 445 attempts, while at shortstop he"s at -11 OAA in 379 attempts. He"s slightly below average at second base, but at SS he"s atrocious. If he plays second, he"s able to be an average defender with his plus bat, so the numbers would probably say he"s an elite second baseman, but at SS he"s not that great because his defense weighs him down too much.

How Could His Defense Improve?

Gleyber Torres paired with an elite defensive SS would probably help him with his defense. His range is not great and he"s never played with a great glove at SS. You"re probably asking, “Well what about Didi?" and the answer is that Didi had a -21 OAA in the two years with Didi at SS. Give Gleyber a player like Andrelton Simmons, Trevor Story, or Francisco Lindor, and he could become maybe a one or two OAA player. He can"t be forced to play short. They must try to get an alternate shortstop, as the Yanks could then have a player in Gleyber who helps them defensively compared to hurting them.

Gleyber Torres in 2021

I think you"ll see Gleyber Torres at second base next season and he can play about 140 games, as he doesn"t have issues with playing that many games. If he gets to that mark these are the numbers he could potentially attain at second.

These numbers are some of the best you can get from a second baseman. I know on the surface it can seem like a daunting task, but I think that slightly above-average defense at second and really good offensive production is what a prime Gleyber would look like.

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