Estrada won’t be under the radar much longer
TRENTON >> Fans of both the Thunder and Yankees should get to know Thairo Estrada.
The 21-year-old infielder who mostly played Rob into Gleyber Torres’Batman since the start of the season won’t be under the radar much longer, especially now that Torres has been promoted to Triple-A.
You can make the argument Estrada has been the Thunder’s best player thus far.
In 37 games, Estrada has posted an impressive .341/.430/.455 line hitting primarily out of the lead off spot.
“He hits the ball the other way a lot on a line and guys like that aren’t goingto hit a lot of fly ball outs ,” manager Bobby Mitchell said. “He wears rightcenter out a lot. I think that approach on fastballs keeps him on breaking balls that he’s able to keep back.
“When there’ s a guy on third with less than two outs, I don’t think there’s a guy on the team I’d rather have up because he puts the ball in play all the time.
Estrada said he likes batting in the top spot in the order.
“I like hitting first because it forces me to take a few pitches just to see for the whole team,” he said through interpreter Hector Rodriguez. “As soon as I see a few pitches, I’m trying to put a good swing and make some good contact and get on base.”
Ranked as the organization’s 30th best prospect by MLB Pipeline, Estrada has the Yankees’ brass on notice. He can play multiple infield spots — short, second and third — providing the versatility teams crave.
“It’ s not like we’ re surprised by his level of success, but maybe the level of success he’s had right now,” Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo said earlier this week. “He’s developed very well and put himself on the map as one of our best infield prospects.”
The Yankees inked Estrada as part of their 2012-13 international signing class along with Luis Torrens and Jorge Mateo. Torrens was left unprotected and picked up by the Padres in the Rule -5 Draft and Mateo, although still ranked the organization’s No. 4 prospect, remains in High-A.
Estrada, meanwhile, has thrived. He put together a .290/.346/.391 season with eight homers and 49 RBIs across 118 games between Charleston and Tampa last summer and was invited to the Yankees’ Captain’s Camp prior to spring training.
The Captain’s Camp participants are selected by the minor league player development staff, Denbo said. The camp isn’ t just for top prospects, but for players the organization believes have a chance to make the major league club.
“It helped me to start the year off by getting some early work in and learn a lot from some of the guys who were there,” Estrada said. “It helped me get off to a great start this year.”
Now that he’s got the lead role in Trenton, he’s ready to embrace it.
“I just keep with my routine and keep a positive mental state just so I can keep doing what I’m doing ,” Estradasaid .“The work that I keep putting in is ultimately going to pay off .”
Mike Ford’s numbers during a nine-game spell at Triple-A didn’t indicate the former Princeton University star was overmatched at the level.
But the numbers game won out on Wednesday and Ford was optioned back to the Thunder after JiMan Choi came off the disabled list in Scranton.
Ford hit safely in all nine games he appeared in, compiling a .306/.432/.750 slash with four homers and 10 RBIs in 36 at-bats.
In 32 games for the Thunder, he’s slashing .303/.412/.450 with two homers and 16 RBIs. He also began the season with an 11-game hitting streak.