New York Yankees’ Gleyber Torres Among Four Players To Watch In ALDS

Tuesday marks another baseball fan’s dream day as four Major League Baseball postseason games will be played on the same day.

The Division Series round begins with four best-of-five series.

It will be the Houston Astros against the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees versus the Cleveland Guardians in the American League. In the National League, it will be the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres squaring off and the Atlanta Braves facing the Philadelphia Phillies.

Here is a look at one key player from each team involved in the ALDS.

GLEYBER TORRES, YANKEES

Torres looked like a superstar in waiting when he made the All-Star Games in each of his first two major league seasons in 2018-19. The middle infielder belted 38 home runs in his second season.

In the succeeding three seasons, though, Torres hasn’t been able to duplicate those numbers. However, he had a fine 2022 as the Yankees’ everyday second baseman – he was switched from shortstop late last season — hitting .257/.310/.451 with 24 homers and 10 stolen bases in 140 games.

The most encouraging sign from the 25-year-old is he had his best month in September/October. In 24 games, he put together a .323/.389/.573 slash line with six longballs.

Torres also had nine defensive runs saved this year and after having a minus-12 figure in 2021.

STEVEN KWAN, GUARDIANS

The Guardians play baseball the old-fashioned way. They put the ball in play, run the bases aggressively and play good defense.

Kwan, a 25-year-old rookie, is the epitome of the 2022 Guardians as their leadoff-hitting left fielder. During the regular season, he hit .298/.373/.400 with six home runs and 19 stolen bases in 147 games. That came after he wasn’t even expected to make the team going into spring training.

And Kwan also logged 21 defensive runs saved in left field.

The Tampa Bay Rays neutralized Kwan during the Guardians’ sweep in an American League Wild Card Series, holding him hitless in nine at-bats. The Yankees will need to do something similar if they are to neutralize the Guardians’ death-by-paper-cuts offense.,

CAL RALEIGH, MARINERS

Raleigh forever put himself in Mariners’ lore Sept. 23 when the catcher’s walk-off home run against the Oakland Athletics clinched an AL wild card. Seattle hadn’t been to the postseason since 2001, the longest drought of any of the four major North American professional sports.

However, Raleigh is more than a one-hit wonder. He belted 27 home runs in 119 games during the regular season while hitting .211/.284/.489. Raleigh also had 14 defensive runs saved.

In the Mariners’ two-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS round, Raleigh was 4 for 8 with a double and a homer. At 25, he should keep getting better.

KYLE TUCKER, ASTROS

The right fielder often gets overlooked in a stacked lineup that includes such stars as Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman. However, Tucker has proven to be an offensive force, too, and a significant reason why the Astros were fourth in the major leagues with 214 home runs in the regular season.

The 25-year-old He flirted with joining the 30/30 club as he had 30 homers and 25 steals, which were both career highs. He also slashed .257/.330/.458 in 150 games with 11 defensive runs saved.

While the Astros play their games at Minute Maid Park, a hitter’s haven, Tucker hit better on the road in the regular season. In 72 games away from home, he had an OPS (.866) that was 115 points higher than at home while putting together a .264/.345/.520 line with 18 home runs in 72 games.