Future stars come out in the Bronx

By César Augusto Márquez

The stars aligned this past weekend at Yankee Stadium for two of the game’s most prized prospects — infielders Lourdes “Yunito” Gurriel Jr. and Gleyber Torres — both fulfilling childhood dreams by making their major league debuts on the biggest baseball stage of all.

“You’re never prepared for something like this,” Gurriel Jr. said in Spanish in an interview with La Vida Baseball on Friday shortly before taking the field for the Toronto Blue Jays to play second base and bat ninth.

“No matter how many times you dream it, when you step into a major league clubhouse and see your name, it’s an indescribable feeling,” he added.

You’d be tempted to call it a legend in the making because Yunito — the 24-year-old younger brother of Houston Astros first baseman Yulieski “Yuli” Gurriel and son of the legendary Cuban outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Sr. — wrote a storybook ending to the night.

A Fine start

The same evening he was promoted straight from the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats to the Bronx, barely two years after leaving the town of Sancti Spíritus in Central Cuba with his family, he went 2-for-5 with three RBI.

Yunito’s first time up, with the Blue Jays losing, 2-0, he led off the third inning by blasting a long and loud out deep to centerfield against Yankees starter Sonny Gray. A long and loud out.

Yunito didn’t have much time to re-calibrate his swing. His next chance arrived the very next inning with the Blue Jays behind, 4-3. Facing Gray with runners on third and second, he hit a 1-1 pitch right up the middle, driving in both countryman Kendrys Morales and Kevin Pillar to put the Blue Jays ahead, 5-4.

In the top of the fifth, Yunito strode to the plate for the third straight inning, this time with the bases loaded and the scored tied, 5-5. Facing an 0-2 count against Dominican reliever Domingo Germán, he went with the pitch, slapping a perfectly-placed groundball single between first and second that drove in Russell Martin and put the Blue Jays up for good in a game that they won, 8-5.

“That was something special. I just wanted to make good contact,” Yunito said after becoming the 18th player in Blue Jays’ history to start his career with a multi-hit game.

Lourdes Sr. was in transit and missed his son’s glittering debut. But Yuli, who was in Chicago playing against the White Sox an hour later, got to watch part of the game on television with his Astros teammates, including second baseman José Altuve and shortstop Carlos Correa.

“Unfortunately, dad couldn’t make my debut, but we talked for a long time this morning,” Yunito said. “I also talked with my brothers Yuli and Yunieski, who told me to stay calm and to play the game as I know how.”

A debut to savor

On Sunday, it was Torres’ turn. A 21-year-old from Caracas who is the No. 5 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, his journey through the minor leagues was abruptly interrupted last season after tearing a ligament in his left, non-throwing elbow.

He looked rusty in spring training. But after being assigned to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Torres began smoking the ball, hitting .347/.393/.510 with 11 RBI in 14 games.

It took the Yankees brass less than a month to pull the trigger. They yanked Torres from his game in the sixth inning on Saturday and told him to pack his bags for The Show.

“I’m very grateful to God and to the New York Yankees’ organization for giving me the chance,” Torres said in Spanish in an interview with La Vida Baseball. “It was hard to have lost last season and I had a difficult spring training. But I’m here now and I must show that I can play at this level.”

Torres manned second and batted seventh against the Blue Jays. He basked in the cheers of the crowd during the Bleacher Creatures’ roll call and then received a standing ovation before his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning.

“You always wonder about your debut, but once you step on the field, it’s a powerful feeling,” Torres said.

Facing veteran Mexican starter Jaime García, all Torres saw in his first at-bat were five consecutive breaking balls. García schooled the rookie, striking him out swinging with an 81-mph slider.

In his next at-bat in the fourth inning, Torres showed patience against García, working a 3-1 count before grounding out into a double play.

Torres ending up going 0-for-4, hitting a deep fly ball to right field in his last at-bat. Overall, he declared himself happy because the Yankees won his debut, 5-1. Instead of fretting about missed opportunities, he preferred to savor the good moments.

“I never expected in my debut at Yankee Stadium to receive such a gracious ovation from the fans,” he said. “The hits will come. I’ll always remember this day.”

At 21 years and 130 days, Torres became the Yankees’ youngest position player to debut in the major leagues since Derek Jeter in 1995 at 20 years and 337 days.

“I didn’t know that,” Torres confessed. “But it’s always nice to be mentioned next to a star like him.”

If things work out as projected, both Gurriel Jr. and Torres will soon be stars in their own right. Born in Yankee Stadium no less.

Featured Image: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images Sport

Inset Image: Elsa / Getty Images Sport