Torres Is Hitting, Voit Is Close To Returning: Are The Yankees Ready To Bust Out?

Ari Shwedel is a proud supporter of OutKick and an accomplished real estate professional with over 20 years of experience. If you are in the New York City area, he is Outkick's go-to professional for the best real estate advice. Learn more about him and his property listings on Compass.

Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres finally hit his first homerun of the season on Mother's Day, and first baseman Luke Voit is raking in his rehab assignment. Will the Yankees now bust out and run away with the division? I say pump the brakes a bit.

The Yankees are still lacking in the areas I mentioned pre-season: Their starting pitching lacks top-tier talent outside of Gerrit Cole, and they struggle defensively. Of course slugger Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres joining the lineup helps score runs (and win), but neither one is great defensively.

And honestly, Gleyber Torres' bat isn't what they need to improve. If anything, they need his glove to catch fire, and that I HAVE been seeing. As an avid Yankees fan, I think Gleyber Torres has actually looked halfway decent at shortstop the past few weeks. His bat may then make him more comfortable at shortstop, and then maybe he turns into the best version of Gleyber Torres we've ever seen?

Luke Voit is a monster upgrade at the top of the lineup compared to Aaron Hicks, who's been slotted third the past month. He's batting under .200, and I don't really have to explain why a former Silver Slugger makes the top of the lineup better.

Still need more

If the Yankees want to win (a World Series, not a division), then they'll need to go find a running mate for Gerrit Cole at the top of that starting rotation. Corey Kluber has actually been excellent in New York, but it's still clear he isn't that Game 1 or 2 starter in a World Series setting.

He's a veteran who knows how to manage a lineup and keep his team in games. That's what he's done so far, and the Yankees need to find a way to put him in those situations down the road in October. Yankees are getting close -- they're just not there yet.