If we know anything about New York Yankees, baseball it’s that everything is subject to change, including having a troubling questionable season to winning 13 consecutive games then going on a losing streak. But change is not limited to the big team. Things can change ever more quickly in the minors as well. So although sensation Jasson Dominguez has been the Yankees’ number one prospect for a couple of years, that may no longer be true.
Making a new for himself, Anthony Volpe has been winning for the Hudson Valley Renegades. Last year I wrote: In a really messed up spring training caused by the coronavirus, Anthony Volpe got a taste of playing with the big guys. When a minor leaguer tested positive for the virus, all the minor leaguers were tested.
The 18-year-old passed up on a scholarship to Vanderbilt and signed with the New York Yankees. Last season (2019), he slashed a .215/.341/.704 line. But for the month before his season was shortened by mono, he hit .318. Volpe got to play in one game at Gorge M. Steinbrenner Field that spring. Disappointed by the sudden shutdown of camp, he returned to his home in New Jersey when the minor league quarantine was lifted. There was no minor league season in 2020.
This year he started with the Tampa Tarpons 302/.455/.623 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs across 54 games. Playing so well and with the minor league re-alignment, Volpe found himself playing for the Renegades up the river from Yankee Stadium. Since there, he is challenging the Yankees to bring him up and by-pass triple-A play.
Volpe is an excellent defender at short and turning heads with hit hitting. In 43 games with the Renegades, he is hitting .286 with 12 home runs. That is an average homer in every 3.5 games. He also has 31 RBIs. As a result, MLB Pipeline’s mid-season review has named the now 20-year-old shortstop as the New York Yankees’ top prospect, overtaking outfielder Jasson Dominguez.
Born across the river from Yankee Stadium in New Jersey, the 16-year-old Volpe attended Delbarton School in Morristown. As a senior at Delbarton, he hit .488 with 7 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and 34 RBIs. He was named New Jersey High School player of the year in 2019. Upon graduation, he committed to playing college ball with Vanderbilt University. But he was selected in the first round of the 2019 draft by the New York Yankees.
It seems like there is no stopping the young shortstop. Where he is headed nobody knows for sure, but he is longed for the major leagues and maybe sooner than later. On August 19th, the Renegades were losing the game. Volpe in the ninth came to the plate and hit a walk-off home run to win the game for the Renegades 7-6. This past Sunday, Volpe created some perplexing excitement when he homered. He ran the bases and was immediately thrown out of the game upon reaching home plate. Apparently, he said something to the umpire as he passed third base. Apparently, Volpe feels any news is good news.
Whenever a player plays great in the minors, there is no way to know for sure how that will translate in the majors, but you can be sure the Yankees will be watching.