Okay, okay. I know Aaron Judge is having one of, if not the very best stretches of all time in the last two weeks, but this column isn’t necessarily about being the best hitter on the planet. Instead, I often use it to highlight an at-bat where a hitter battled in a tough matchup, made great adjustment after looking over matched to start, or something else along those lines. Just a few days ago, Gleyber Torres had a perfect example of that.
On Sunday, when the Yankees faced off against Joe Musgrove, Torres stepped to the plate after hitting a single in his first appearance. Torres has been much better at the plate of late, but it’s still taking time to see those overall numbers tick up. However, after at-bats like this, it’s clear that he is turning the corner and looking more like the 2023 version of himself. Let me show you:
Pitch 1 (0-0, curveball)
Musgrove is pretty darn good at using his curveball to steal a strike. That’s what he did here, but he landed it outside the zone and went down 1-0. Once Torres is fully back, I’d like to see better takes on hooks like this one. It’s clear he didn’t recognize this spin. He lost his posture right away. But either way, he was up 1-0.
Pitch 2 (1-0, slider)
This was a much better take. He still didn’t fully have himself under control, but instead of bailing out early on, he forced himself to stay in his legs and envision his barrel moving through the zone. This is what hitters do when they’re feeling good at the plate. Even if you don’t swing, your body should be in an athletic position. It was a 1-1 count.
Pitch 3 (1-1 curveball)
Oh man, this pitch was nearly untouchable. After seeing Gleyber’s take in the 0-0 count, I really like the decision to go back to the pitch and try to get ahead without using a heater. It’s classic pitching backwards. Add the deception with the pitch grazing the top of the zone, and you have yourself a perfectly executed curve. Fantastic work by Musgrove. Torres now had to battle.
Pitch 4 (1-2, 4-seamer)
Swing, swing, swing, swing, take! Torres pushed the limit as far as he could to make sure he would leave the pitch out of the zone or take an emergency hack. Musgrove perfectly executed the pitch just above the zone but Torres’ approach allowed him to leave it – another good sign he is in a good spot at the plate. After this, the count was even. Musgrove had been on point all day and all at-bat, and he just had to continue executing.
Pitch 5 (2-2, slider)
Sheesh! This was another nasty pitch from Musgrove but Torres didn’t even flinch. The slider was in a perfect tunnel with the heater above the zone and curveballs that had been at belly button to eye level. But once again, it was a better take than pitch. From here, Musgrove could continue with his approach and hope Gleyber whiffed through a pitch, or serve something in the zone and challenge him.
Pitch 6 (3-2, 4-seamer)
Man, after this one, you start questioning if you have the stuff to get the guy out. It was either a great take or foul off. These last three pitches reminded me of ’23 Torres. Make pitchers beat him in the zone! It’s simple, and obviously not everybody can execute this, but it’s a relentless mindset to not strike out. He’s still had his fair share K’s since he’s picked up his play, but that’ll start changing soon. Anyways, Torres still had to win this at-bat in the 3-2 count repeat.
Pitch 7 (3-2, curveball)
Same thing here! Another executed breaking ball in the bottom of the zone, but the best it got was a foul ball. So at this point, Musgrove’s gone to the heater, slider, and curveball with no victory. Each pitch was well executed, but it hadn’t mattered to this point. You don’t want to walk the guy, so it’s time to challenge up in the zone and see what happens.
Pitch 8 (3-2, 4-seamer)
In every season I’ve written at this site, I’ve beat the “Gleyber needs to keep an opposite field approach” drum repeatedly. When he is at his best, he is driving the ball in the air to right center field with consistency. It puts him in a position to let the ball travel, while still getting ideal contact. This at-bat perfectly illuminated that. A 100 mph barrel over the right fielder’s head. That’s vintage Gleyber.
