Top Prospect Gleyber Torres' Meteoric Rise Could Earn Him 2017 Yankees Debut

The people who rate prospects for MLB.com jumped Gleyber Torres from 28th to third on their Top 100 list this year, but they left his ETA to the major leagues at 2018.

They may be right. Torres just turned 20 in December. He played all last season in Class A. As excited as the New York Yankees are about the super-talented kid they got from the Chicago Cubs in last July's Aroldis Chapman trade, general manager Brian Cashman made clear back in November that Torres will start the 2017 season at Double-A Trenton.

"Next year he'll start at Trenton and get introduced to the cold weather of the Eastern League in April for the first time," Cashman told reporters, including George A. King III of the New York Post. "He'll be ready whenever he's ready. I'm not currently thinking about his timeline. Once he has extensive success at Double–A level, you can start doing that. He hasn't taken that step yet."

Notice, Cashman said only that Torres will start the season at Trenton, not that he will end it there.

There's no need for the Yankees to push and no need for them to promise. But if 2017 goes for Torres as 2016 did, why wouldn't he end the season in New York?

The kid is special, and he has already shown he can handle assignments that others his age aren't ready for. Torres was the youngest player in the Arizona Fall League in 2016. He was also the youngest player ever to win the AFL batting title and the youngest to be named the AFL's Most Valuable Player.

"Just keep him challenged," a scout told me in November, when I first wrote about Torres for Bleacher Report.

There's a challenge for Torres this spring, even with the early announcement that he'll begin the season in Double-A. With starting shortstop Didi Gregorius leaving to play for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, there will be innings and at-bats that normally wouldn't be available to a kid who isn't supposed to make the team.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

There will be chances for Torres to make an impression—something he has already proved he can do.

Check out the headlines in the New York newspapers just from the opening week of spring training.

"Gleyber Torres is dazzling Yankees camp," the Post wrote.

"Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres 'can be the star' everyone's talking about," the Daily News wrote.

"Yankees' Gleyber Torres turning heads at spring training," NJ.com wrote.

In Dan Martin's story in the Post, Yankees infield coach Joe Espada talked about Torres' maturity and how he has already shown he can deal with quick advancement.

"If he gets to New York, he'll be able to handle what goes on there," Espada told Martin. "He already knows how to deal with a lot of expectations at a young age."

Espada also addressed the other Torres issue. The one about where he plays. Not where as in what city and what level, but where on the infield. While Torres has played all but one game in his minor league career at shortstop (he made one start at second base last season), scouts have been divided on whether he'll end up there in the majors.

In my story in November, one scout described Torres as "erratic" defensively and suggested he'll eventually move to second base or third base. Espada told Martin he believes Torres should stay at short for now but agreed he could eventually move.

It makes sense for the Yankees to have him ready to play other positions. Gregorius just turned 27 and is coming off the best year of his career. The Yankees figure to have a more immediate need at second (where Starlin Castro is the starter) or third base (where Chase Headley returns).

Headley has two years to go on the four-year, $52 million contract he signed after the 2014 season. But the Yankees talked about trading him over the winter. They've already shown they won't let veterans with contracts stand in the way of kids with talent.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Last August, Gary Sanchez became New York's catcher, and Brian McCann became a part-timer behind the plate and saw more at-bats as a designated hitter. When the season was over, the Yankees traded McCann to the Houston Astros.

There's no need yet for them to move anyone out of the way for Torres. They'll get a chance this spring to see how he does against major league pitching (at least the spring training variety). They'll see, starting in April, how he handles the big step to Double-A.

They won't be disappointed if he takes another year to get to New York. Torres will be 21 when he goes to spring training in 2018. That's still young for a major league rookie.

Only three players under 21 saw time in the majors in 2016: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias, Kansas City Royals infielder Raul Mondesi and Texas Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara.

Baseball history, though, tells you the best players can move fast and compete when they're young. Torres' history tells you he can handle playing against others who are older.

He'll get a chance this spring. He'll get a chance in Trenton.

Later this year, he could very well get a chance in New York.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

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