6 MLB Prospects Primed to Explode up the Rankings

Gleyber Torres, SS, New York Yankees

Gleyber Torres was the centerpiece of the Yankees trade with the Cubs, in which the Cubs received Aroldis Chapman. Torres began his professional career with the Cubs just a couple years ago after the team spent big on both him and Eloy Jimenez in 2013. At age 19 he started the season with the Cubs high A affiliate in Myrtle Beach. At the time of his trade to the Yankees he was one of the Cubs’ top prospects.

Torres’ prospect profile is, of course, helped by the fact that he plays up the middle. So far he hasn’t shown much to make scouts believe that he’ll have to be moved away from the position. If he adds a little weight, there’s certainly a possibility that he would move to second or third. He has a plus arm and plus glove that allow him this type of flexibility going forward. In terms of base-running and speed, there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about. He has the smarts to take some extra bags, but his speed isn’t nearly good enough for him to be considered plus in that regard.

Where Torres truly excels is in the hit tool, where he has plus bat speed and a fluid swing. That tool is what has carried him on prospect lists, and it is what will carry him into the big leagues eventually. Because he has a low tendency to swing and miss while also hitting balls on a line, he’s almost a sure shot everyday regular in the future. Where Torres truly has room to grow into a great prospect is with his power.

It’s not great at the moment, but if he bulks up he could see a rise in his ability to hit the ball hard and with some carry. It may not manifest itself in a 20 or 30 home run season at the major league level, but it could be good enough to see him reach a slugging percentage in the .500s. That will play up if he stays at shortstop. If he moves elsewhere, the lack of power might be an issue. It would, however, be overshadowed by his hitting ability.

Torres is an excellent candidate to shoot up the prospect rankings for two reasons. The first is is his age. At just 19 years old, he has plenty of time for maturation and growth into his athletic body. That will play up in every facet of the game. The second reason is that he was on a hot streak during the second half of the season and into the Arizona Fall League. If that was more than just a hot month or two, Torres is primed to explode up the prospect rankings, possibly into the top 10. He already has some Yankees company up there too.