Gleyber Torres‘ MLB career started off on the right foot, with 62 home runs in his first two seasons (2018 and 2019) with the New York Yankees.
He was young and on the top of the world.
His power fell off a cliff in 2020 and 2021, as he couldn’t adjust to hit high velocity.
His numbers suffered as a result (.724 and .697 OPS in 2020 and 2021, respectively), and he hit just 12 combined home runs in those years.
But now, even if his average and OBP aren’t quite as high as he would want them to be, his power seems to have returned.
He already has five home runs in the 2022 campaign, which is much, much better than his power pace in the last couple of seasons.
Advanced metrics indicate his power surge is sustainable, too.
Gleyber Torres’ GB%, FB%, HardHit% over his career
2018: 32.8, 42.7, 36.8
2019: 37.2, 41.9, 36.1
2020: 41.7, 38.9, 38.0
2021: 41.5, 36.2, 35.7
2022: 32.0, 46.7, 50.6Yeah he’s going off this year
— Barry (Aaron Judge enjoyer) (@YanksBar) May 12, 2022
He Is Back To Hitting The Ball In The Air, And Harder Than Ever
During his power drought years, Torres’ batted ball split reverted to a groundball-heavy profile as opposed to lifting the ball consistently, as the numbers above show.
In 2018 and 2019, he hit a lot of homers because he lifted the ball.
In the last two seasons, he ceased doing that consistently, and his power all but disappeared.
This season, he is not only hitting the ball in the air again, but he is also hitting it harder than ever.
The hard-hit % stat shows the percentage of batted balls that leave the bat at 95 mph or faster.
It means that roughly half of Torres’ batted balls are being hit at a very solid 95 mph or more.
That’s a very positive development, together with his renewed fly ball increase.
It’s a recipe for hitting a lot of homers, and it appears to be happening for him now.
In a matter of a few weeks, Torres’ numbers could resemble his early-career version.
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