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Torres, Staumont win weekly AFL awards

Yankees shortstop, Royals right-hander named top hitter, pitcher
October 25, 2016

The Yankees tested one of their newest acquisitions with an assignment to the Arizona Fall League, and now the organization's No. 2 prospect has responded with an award-winning week.

Middle infielder Gleyber Torres has been named the Arizona Fall League Player of the Week for Week 2 of the circuit's season. Royals No. 10 prospect Josh Staumont won the AFL's Pitcher of the Week honor.

Torres collected two hits in each of his three games with Scottsdale last week, going 6-for-9 with one homer, one double, two RBIs, three walks and two stolen bases. His standout game came last Tuesday when he reached base in all four of his plate appearances while also homering, doubling and swiping two bases from the No. 3 spot in the Scorpions lineup during a 6-3 loss to Mesa.

Entering play Tuesday, MLB.com's No. 17 overall prospect led the AFL with an .810 slugging percentage and a 1.330 OPS over his first six games. He's gone 9-for-21 (.429) with two homers, two doubles, four RBIs and five runs scored in those half-dozen contests. Though considered to be a solid shortstop, the Venezuela native has split his time between short and second base in the Fall League.

Torres was acquired by the Yankees from the Cubs in the Aroldis Chapman deal that also sent right-hander Adam Warren and outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford to New York. The 19-year-old owned a .275/.359/.433 line with nine homers and 19 steals in 94 games at Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach at the time of the trade and put together a .254/.341/.385 line with two homers and two stolen bases in 31 games at Class A Advanced Tampa to finish the season.

Staumont impressed in both of his starts last week for Surprise. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed only one hit and struck out two over four scoreless innings against Salt River on Oct. 17 and followed that up by allowing one run on two hits and three walks while fanning six in 3 1/3 frames against Glendale five days later. He is 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA, 11 strikeouts and four walks in his first three starts (10 1/3 innings) for the Saguaros.

The 2015 second-rounder posted a 4.23 ERA with 167 strikeouts and 104 walks in 123 1/3 innings during the regular season between Class A Advanced Wilmington and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. His fastball has hit triple-digits in the past, but he'll need to significantly improve his control if he's going to stick as a starter as he climbs the Royals ladder.

Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.