A New York Yankees shortstop prospects with ties to the New Jersey area? Where have I heard that one before? Maybe I’m thinking of this next prospects hero who grew up watching Yankee games at his grandmother’s house in New Jersey. The new prospect I’m referring to grew up in Watchung, New Jersey dreaming of the opportunity to play for the New York Yankees. He loves to talk about the memories he has about the World Series run in 2009, and attending the parade after the Yankees closed out the Phillies in six games. The prospect I’m referring to is the Yankees ninth ranked prospect: Anthony Volpe.
2019 Outlook
Volpe was the Yankees first round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. Standing six feet tall, Volpe has a lot of similar tools as his idol Derek Jeter. Volpe is not going to impress you with his power, but he has great plate discipline and takes the ball to all fields. Volpe showed off his solid plate skills at times last season, although a battle with mono really hindered his success. Volpe has a great eye at the plate and had an OBP of almost 350 despite having a batting average in the lower 200s. Volpe is very smooth when it comes to his defensive abilities. He has a decent arm at shortstop, and he has the ability to get the ball away quickly. He’s a pretty decent defender, but will continue to develop those skills overtime. Volpe is the second ranked SS in the system behind top prospect Oswald Peraza. Peraza who’s a year older than Volpe does possess more polished skills at this stage in his career, but Volpe shows great promise.
2020 and Beyond
Whenever we kick off the season, I want to see how Volpe does with his batting average this year. He needs to keep his strikeout numbers down and make more consistent contact with the ball. Volpe is going to continue to get stronger which could see his power numbers trend up, but I’m specifically looking at his average. With getting stronger, I expect his arm strength to also improve over the next couple of years. Volpe has the makings of a very good prospect considering that he’s got above average skills across the board. He’s got great speed, and I would like to see him utilize that this year to swipe a few bags. Volpe is still years away from potentially cracking the roster in the big leagues, but the local talent is definitely someone that fans should keep an eye on as he continues to develop.