After hitting 24 home runs as a 22-year-old rookie in 2018 and following that up with 38 in 2019, New York Yankees‘ infielder Gleyber Torres was at the top of the world.
That made his 2020 and 2021 struggles more precipitous.
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Torres had a mediocre .724 OPS and a meager .125 isolated power (ISO); and a year later, he was even worse, with a .697 OPS and a .107 ISO.
He is still paying the price of a horrific start of his 2022 campaign, but if the last few days are any indication, he appears to have found the power that left him for two full years.
He hit his fourth homer of the season, a walk-off blast, against the Texas Rangers on Sunday; and the fifth came on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, as the Yankees swept them with their 5-3 victory.
Torres drove in all five runs in the afternoon affair, with his homer and an additional hit.
He Is Hitting For Far More Power
With five round-trippers, it’s safe to say he is looking more dangerous this year than at any point in the last two seasons.
“It took 80 games last year for Gleyber Torres to hit five home runs. Torres has five homers in 28 games so far this season,” SI.com’s Max Goodman tweeted, with the video of today’s blast against Jose Berrios.
It took 80 games last year for Gleyber Torres to hit five home runs.
Torres has five homers in 28 games so far this season. pic.twitter.com/T4issL8KrX
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) May 11, 2022
It came against a talented right-hander on an 0-2 pitch, so there were several positive takeaways from his homer.
It’s his third long ball in his last eight games, and while he is still slashing a somewhat disappointing .222/.258/.444 with a .702 OPS in 2022, those numbers are going up in a hurry.
The Yankees have to be happy about the advances he has made at the plate, especially in the power department.
