Going into his third season, it’s still hard to evaluate Anthony Volpe.
He’s had flashes of offensive brilliance but has overall disappointed at the plate. His rookie year of 2023 saw him slash a paltry .209/.283/.383, which all added up to an OPS of .666. That’s not so great. Worse, his OPS actually went down to .657 last year. His overall slash of .243/.293/.364 showed some promise, but his SLG was still lacking. That’s especially disappointing because he profiled as a much better hitter in the minors. He hit .294/.423/.604 with a 1.027 OPS between the two A-level teams in 2021, then followed that up by slashing .249/.342/.460 in 2022.
That is not the batter we’ve seen so far. At least not consistently.
A man better play some mean defense at a premier position to stay in the league with those numbers. Fortunately for Volpe, he does. His hard work and dedication led him to win the Gold Glove at short in 2023 and eighth place in ROY voting, a nod to his defense.
I won’t take the time to compare his numbers to Jeter’s because that’s not fair to anybody. And Greg Bird comparisons aren’t really apt as they play such different positions. We already know Volpe doesn’t have the health problems of Bird and, no matter what, will never be the hitter that man was.
But there is one reason to compare him to Derek Jeter–they both share the Clutch Gene.
It's in The Jeans
The reason Volpe has struggled so much at the plate is that he only played 22 games at Triple-A Scranton when he needed to serve a full season. But, ironically, that all happened because of that gene. If you remember, the Yankees announced an open competition for shortstop at the start of the 2022 Spring Training season. My guess is they thought either Oswald Peraza, who was a better hitter than Volpe in the minors with the same defense, or Oswaldo Cabrera would win it. Instead, Volpe seized that opportunity by the throat and never let go.
Volpe was all-world that Spring, hitting “309/. 415/. 618 (17-for-55) with 13R, six doubles, one triple, 3HR, 5RBI, 9BB and 5SB in 19 spring training games.” That’s the hitter’s version of announcing your presence with authority.
Anthony Volpe was here to stay.
And he’s shown flashes of that brilliance a few times. He seemed like the MVP of the league in April last season before struggling with consistency through the rest of the year. But he once again showed his Jeterian side in October, getting better as the team rolled into the World Series. He hit .250/.318/.500 in those five games, adding up to an OPS of .818. And, of course, he hit a grand slam for the ages when his team needed him most.
That’s the kind of thing Jeter used to do.
But the fact is he needs to have a breakout year this year, and I think he will. If he can hit .270 and start getting on base more, he’ll get more opportunities to show off his Clutch Gene in the playoffs, where Yankees legends are born. He’ll never be Jeter, but he’s already better than Bird or Refsnyder.
Likewise, Austin Wells will never be the enforcer that Posada was, but he might end up a better hitter.
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