For the Yankees, the centerpiece of the July 25 trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs was shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres. During the regular season, Torres batted a productive .270/.354/.421 at the High-A level with good speed and power to the gaps. The 19-year-old also put up those numbers despite being significantly younger than his peer group.
After the season ended the Yankees dispatched Torres to the Arizona Fall League (AFL), and he has continue to thrive while competing against some of the best young talent in the minors. In fact, Torres was named AFL Player of the Week on Tuesday, along with Royals right-hander Josh Staumont.
In the second week of AFL play, Torres hit .667 with a double, a home run, three walks and two stolen bases. Overall, Torres boasts a line of .391/.517/.739 with two homers in seven games for the Scottsdale Scorpions and more walks than strikeouts.
As for Torres' former organization, the Cubs -- who signed him out of Venezuela -- they're certainly happy to have a lock-down closer in the fold for the World Series. However, manager Joe Maddon recognizes that parting with a prospect of Torres' ceiling is indeed a loss. Here's what Maddon said Monday in Cleveland regarding the pre-deadline trade that sent Torres for Chapman:
First of all, Theo talked to me about it, and of course it was a wonderful thought. We waited for the right moment and the boys had to get together and understand and decide what we were willing to give up for him. Because I've seen Gleyber. Gleyber's a good baseball player, man. That kid's going to be really good. So you have to give up something to get something. But also our guys felt if we got Aroldis this year, we'd have a chance to be sitting here and answering this question, and they were right.
Based on his age-adjusted regular-season performance, Torres was already in line to be a consensus top 10 overall prospect heading into 2017. His AFL bestowals have only cemented his status. Be excited, Yankees fans.
