The New York Yankees executed a blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Twins prior to the start of the 2022 season to acquire Isiah Kiner-Falefa in hopes of him locking down the shortstop position.
Kiner-Falefa has performed adequately, but he has had his fair share of struggles fielding the ball at times and relaying it to first base. IKF was only meant to be a two-year stopgap at the position before making a move to third base or simply being released once he becomes a free agent in 2024. The Yankees have been waiting patiently for their star shortstop prospects to develop in the minor-league system, but both Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza have started their respective campaigns poorly.
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Yankees star shortstop prospects are turning heads this month:
Anthony Volpe:
After a disappointing start of the year, Anthony Volpe has turned things around in a big way this month.
In fact, on Sunday against the Hartford Yard Goats, Volpe tallied one hit, a walk-off three-run homer to send the Somerset Patriots to the playoffs. Volpe is currently on a six-game hitting streak and has recorded a hit in nine of his last 10 games.
ANTHONY VOLPE WALK-OFF HOME RUN TO SEND US TO THE POSTSEASON!! pic.twitter.com/zG8hNpbiPx
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 26, 2022
Volpe hosts a .238 average over 244 at-bats this season. He has 58 hits and 10 homers to go with 37 RBIs. He has been lethal against left-handed pitchers, hitting .269 with 14 hits. However, his last 28 days display just how electric he can be in the batter’s box. During that time frame, Volpe hosts a .297 average with a 36% on-base rate, five homers, and 15 RBIs.
With the Yankees’ top shortstop prospect finally hitting his groove in Double-A, there’s no question he’s capable of making the transition to Scranton in the future, it just took him a bit of time to adjust to better talent.
Oswald Peraza:
The Yankees’ No. 2 shortstop prospect, Oswald Peraza, has also been phenomenal in the month of June. Peraza is currently on a nine-game hitting streak, recording three hits and two home runs against the Toledo Mud Hens on Sunday.
This year, Peraza is hitting .233 with nine homers and 23 RBIs. Over the last month, he’s hitting .271 with a 33.3% on-base rate, four homers, and eight RBIs. It is great to see both shortstops reaching their potential and dominating at their respective levels after tumultuous starts. However, Peraza is getting closer to making his MLB debut, especially if Kiner-Falefa continues to struggle defensively at shortstop.