Last year was the year of the Baby Bombers which took us 1 game from the world series. This year, it's the addition of 2 baby bombers that has us poised to be title contenders again. With Sanchez slumping badly this season and with Stanton being good enough but not what was expected, the Yankees needed a jolt from the bottom of their order, and boy did they get it. We started the year with Drury at 3b and Walker at 2b. Drury got Wally Pipp'd by headaches and Walker was clearly rusty after getting off to a late start with his signing. We had Wade out there as well who struggled and was sent down. Enter Andujar and Torres.
Andujar 23 yrs old .303/..332/.540 with 8HR 22 doubles and 2 triples
Torres 21 yrs old .295/.351/.577 with 13HR and 5 doubles
Torres has shown the ability to be a plus defender (+2 defensive runs saved) but his 8 errors have left him with a minus in that column this season. Andujar has proven most doubters wrong as he has clearly shown the ability to at least be a league average defender. These guys look to be the future for a very long time. Now, there are some things to look at for both.
Andujar was a highly touted INTL signee who started off his career in the minors with middling production, but always showed a knack for making contact. Once he started driving the ball and hitting more doubles, his BABIP rose past the .300 mark. He finally broke through into a solid hitter at the age of 22 last yr between AA and AAA. His BABIP rose to the .330 mark. His K% stayed very low (13%) yet his power started to arrive (16HR in 125 games). In the majors, he is striking out about 4% more than his minor league track record indicates, but he is still sitting at that .330 BABIP mark. This is likely due to his ability to hit line drives and hard ground balls. His LD+GB percentage is a full 5 percentage points above league average. My anticipation for him as he gets acclimated and the league gets used to him is that the K% will fall down another 3-4%. His BB% is down a touch from his MiLB numbers as well, so I expect his walks to tick up a touch. He is a .300 hitter long term, IMO. I think the BABIP will drive itself downward with the decrease in K's but the BA should stay in the .300 range. If he is able to make gains on the discipline end, he very well may end up becoming a perennial all star 3b. I think Andujar's peak projection is a .300/.350/.500 hitter who tops out in the 25HR range but challenges for the league lead in doubles every year
Torres was stolen from the Cubs for a half season rental of Chapman. He's been a top prospect since his debut in the Cubs organization and has been as high as #1 in the game on some publications. He turned 21 in December. The whole package of Torres is absolutely impressive and has evolved as he came to the bigs. He wasn't a HR hitter in the minors (max was 11HR in a season) but he has always hammered the ball at high rates. He had shown a knack for walking but also a penchant for striking out with average rates from 16 and 17 around the 20% mark. He has always shown a knack for walking in the minors as well posting in the mid to high .300s or even over .400 OBPs over the past few minor league seasons. When he came up to the Yankees, his power came. 13HR in 2 months is a career high for him. And these aren't wall scrapers, these are bombs. With the HR approach has come a higher K rate, 26%. His walk rate is down, but that's expected with him batting 9th and murderers row behind him. Torres has shown the ability to maintain a higher than average BABIP in the minors and he is around the .330 range as well mostly due to a 5% higher than average line drive percentage (26% vs average 21%). That might come down a bit if he gets back to his minor league levels of strike outs. The other thing about Gleyber is that he can steal bases. He will never be a 30SB guy, but his max is likely in the 15 range, just enough to be a threat without being a burner. Torres, IMO, will be a perennial All Star and will likely be in the MVP conversation as he grows into his body. I anticipate he plays 2b for us for this season and next, then shifts over to SS after Didi departs in FA. Everyone thought he would hit for average and reach base a ton. His projection was limited by his power. Now that he is showing the ability to go yard and show significant exit velo and distances, his peak projection is a .300/.400/.550 kind of player capable of hitting 30+HR.
These kids have been absolutely awesome. Thankfully, this isn't the end of the train. With Frazier killing it in AAA and Drury doing the same, we are likely to see Frazier replace Gardner and Drury replace Didi (Drury is a 2b/3b) going forward the next few seasons