The New York Yankees have been on an absolute tear the past few weeks, winning 11 of their last 12 games. It seems as if general manager Brian Cashman’s strategy worked to perfection, especially the acquisition of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has been tremendous offensively this year, hosting a .295 average with seven RBIs. The consensus is still that Kiner-Falefa will serve as a stopgap as a team waits for Anthony Volpe to develop.
Volpe started the 2022 season with Somerset in Double-A, hitting. 187 with three homers and 14 RBIs. While Volpe’s numbers aren’t exactly where the Yankees would like them to be, he still shows a ton of fight and will undoubtedly turn things around as he gets more at-bats and familiarity with the change in talent.
“He keeps grinding out at-bats,” Double-A Somerset Patriots manager Dan Fiorito told Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media. “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 is a patient hitter that possesses a monstrous amount of power. He’s struck out 24 times over 75 at-bats this year, which is about on par with the Yankees average at the top level. Given his impeccable preparation, there’s no question he will begin to understand and adjust with more experience, but he has started the season in a bit of a slump offensively.
“The reassuring thing for Volpe and so many of these guys is that, once we get more consistent information, we get more quality information that we can trust in front of them, i think the guys on this team and in this clubhouse are as competitive as anyone else,” Hirst said.
New York Yankees Vs Texas Rangers Preview:
The Yankees are gearing up to face off against the Texas Rangers on Friday with ace Gerrit Cole on the mound. The Rangers host a 10–14 record, 4th in the AL West. The Yankees sit at 18–7, first in the AL East.
Cole features a 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 10.13 strikeouts per nine rate. His walk rate is up tremendously this year to 3.75, but he finally hit his stride against the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians, pitching a combined 12.2 innings, allowing nine hits and zero runs.
With Cole finally settling into the season, the Yankees are the heavy favorites over Texas, and with Joey Gallo returning to the lineup, they are healthy as well.
The game will start at 7:05 PM at Yankee stadium.