Just when it looked like he was about to catch fire in Double-A Somerset, New York Yankees’ number one prospect Anthony Volpe went cold agan, and it’s fair to say he has been struggling in 2022 as a whole.
It’s a whole new level for him, and it’s to be expected. No one is alarmed yet, but the facts are that he is slashing .167/.291/.344 with a .635 OPS after going 0-for-5 on Thursday, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media. The young infielder does have four home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 16 RBI in 26 games, but his overall performance has been disappointing.
Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman, however, isn’t worried in the slightest. He understands that prospect development is not linear and that Volpe will eventually be fine.
“There’s a ton of very talented players, even at this level, throughout the game,” Cashman told Kuty. “Fast starts. Slow starts. It’s a marathon.”
Lats year, the prized prospect had a 1.078 OPS in Low-A, and then a .977 OPS in High-A, acing two levels in one season.
“He’ll heat up,” the Yankees’ GM said. “I think he’s already started heating up. That kid’s wired right.”
But he has been cooling off some as of late: since April 28, he is hitting .111 (4-for-36) with two homers in 10 games.
“Obviously, he’s taking the next step, and we’re excited about his future,” Cashman said. His manager in Double-A, Dan Fiorito, also spoke with NJ Advance Media about Volpe and his struggles.
“He keeps grinding out at-bats,” Fiorito said about a week ago. “Even some of the times where he wasn’t putting it all together, or when he wasn’t just crushing the ball like we saw all of last year, he’s still competitive.”
Volpe should eventually be fine, but it’s not completely unexpected to see him struggle at a new, more competitive level.
This post was published on 2022-05-13 11:22
