Yankees announce plans for top prospect Anthony Volpe

anthony volpe, yankees

The New York Yankees need a shortstop. They have admitted it themselves, and they don’t want to go back to putting Gleyber Torres there. Whether it is a star-level player like Carlos Correa or Trevor Story, or a one-year stopgap like Andrelton Simmons, the Bombers will add a shortstop no matter what.

The development of Anthony Volpe is basically the one situation that can impact the type of shortstop the Yankees are going to pursue. The 2019 first-round pick had a breakthrough campaign in 2021, hitting .294/.423/.604 with 27 home runs and 33 stolen bases in 513 plate appearances between two levels: Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley.

Well, it appears the Yankees are going to keep pushing him to see if he can quickly adapt to the high minors: vice president of player development Kevin Reese said on Wednesday that Volpe will open the 2022 campaign at Double-A Somerset and “hopefully make an impact in the big leagues soon.”

Will the Yankees bring a one-year stopgap or go for the fences?

That’s quite a statement from the Yankees’ brass. They truly think Volpe is the long-term answer at shortstop, and they have every reason to believe so. He has good instincts, range, and arm at shortstop without being elite, and his bat took the biggest step forward in the minors.

Seeing how Volpe can be a candidate for a summer promotion if he can handle Double-A (and, theoretically, Triple-A after that), the Yankees could go with a one-year option at the position. However, they could also bring Correa and deal with the “issue” later, moving Volpe around the infield.

The news that Volpe will start the 2022 campaign at Double-A probably means that Oswald Peraza, another Yankees’ top prospect at shortstop, will start at Triple-A and will probably be in line for a call-up to the big leagues before Volpe.