The New York Yankees need another spark, despite coming off of a four-game winning streak. They were demoralized by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of a three-game series on Friday night, failing to get anything going offensively.
However, there’s reason to believe the Bombers could give their star future shortstop an opportunity at the big league level, especially after starting his tenure with Triple-A Scranton on a high note.
The Yankees recently called up Oswald Peraza, but there’s an argument to make that Anthony Volpe should be the next man up.
The Yankees are watching Anthony Volpe blossom:
At 21 years old, Volpe spent 110 games with Double-A Somerset this season, hitting .251 with a 35% on-base rate, 18 homers, and 60 RBIs. He also tallied 44 stolen bases, an unbelievable metric that clearly showcases his defensive talent. The former first-round pick struggled to start the 2022 season, but his numbers over the past four months have been unbelievable.
In fact, in June, Volpe hit .298 with a 36% on-base rate and five homers. In July, he hit .296 with a 41.6% on-base rate and five homers. His number decreased a bit in August but still finished with a .247 average and 35% on base rate.
The budding prospect was recently called up to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, replacing Peraza on the Triple-A roster. Over six games and 28 plate appearances, Volpe hosts a .440 average with a 50% on-base rate, two homers, four RBIs and two stolen bases. He’s been even better with Triple-A than he was with Somerset, an odd reality given the increase in talent.
One thing to like about Volpe is his incredible patience at the plate, seeing pitches and swinging at strikes hard. He embodies the entire Yankees hitting mantra to a T.
The reality of the situation is that Volpe is likely a year away from being called up to the MLB level, but with the Yankees struggling at this point and failing miserably to put together wins against competent teams, they could use any spark. Volpe is a potentially elite hitter, and other clubs have had success pulling up players prematurely in the past.
He couldn’t be any worse than Aaron Hicks in the batter’s box, which should tell you all you need to know about the value he holds at such a young age. In addition, he wouldn’t accrue any service time, keeping him fresh for the 2023 season, and allowing the Yankees to manipulate his usage.