Anthony Volpe has hit another slide at the plate and the Yankees haven’t been able to keep him consistent offensively all season. After a red-hot start, he slowed down in June, followed by a red-hot start to his second half that was immediately followed up by a brutal stretch. Inconsistency defines Anthony Volpe, and yet the defensive brilliance he brings to the table has allowed him to produce a lot of value in terms of WAR. Brian Cashman was asked by Joel Sherman of the New York Post about potentially demoting Volpe to get his bat back online, but the long-time GM swiftly dismissed the notion.
“We haven’t talked about it…I feel like by far we believe in him and yes, his development continues at the major league level”
The Yankees aren’t afraid to let Volpe figure it out offensively in the big leagues, but he’ll have to sort out his consistency issues sooner rather than later.
Anthony Volpe Will Sort Out Issues At the Plate With the Yankees
It’s hard to call Anthony Volpe a bust, as he’s one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball and has posted a 3.1 fWAR before September even kicked off. The young infielder provides plenty of value outside of his bat, but the offense coming around would allow him to become one of the best-emerging players in the game. His regression in the power department has been concerning, and the worst part is that it hasn’t come with an increase in walk rate or OBP compared to last season.
His increased groundball rate has done nothing to help him offensively, and the Yankees will need to help him adjust by hitting for more power. It’s hard to identify what bat path changes they’ll have to make or if they can do it in-season, but the floor for the second-year shortstop is very high considering his excellent glove at a premium position. Cashman acknowledged that there are some growing pains, but also discussed the degree of difficulty that comes with being the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees.
“I think this is a hard city to play in and I have no doubts about his ability to play in it. I have no doubt about his ability to help us win in it.”
Anthony Volpe is top five in both Fielding Run Value and Outs Above Average among shortstops, building off of his Gold Glove season last year as a rookie. The Yankees are going to need him to find something offensively if they want to get to the promised land come October, as they lack some of the offensive depth that teams like the Orioles, Dodgers, or Phillies have at their disposal.
What the Yankees do have is the two best hitters in baseball with Aaron Judge making history and Juan Soto having a career season, but they hope that Volpe can finally get the ball rolling so he can join in on the fun.
All quotes were from the New York Post, article linked both in-article and here.