The New York Yankees are not only in the World Series, but they’re also 7-2 since October began. The Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians were only able to take one game each from the Bombers.
The Yankees have an unsung hero fueling their offense
Even though Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge have carried most of the offensive responsibilities for the Yankees in the postseason and especially in the AL Championship Series, it would be unfair to say that they have been the only productive players on the roster.
It would be a disrespect to Gleyber Torres, who is running a .400 OBP and a .832 OPS in the playoffs from the leadoff spot, or to Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Tommy Kahnle or Luke Weaver, who have gotten huge outs time and time again.
Of course, it would also be rude to ignore what Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is doing at the plate. After another underwhelming regular season, the Gold Glover took it up a notch in October and is slashing a cool .310/.459/.345 with a .804 OPS. He was fantastic in the ALCS against Cleveland.
Anthony Volpe has given the Yankees a solid offensive presence at the bottom of the lineup
Volpe has nine hits, six runs scored, and a whopping eight walks. Increased patience has fueled his resurgence: he works pitchers late into counts hoping to get a pitch of his liking. If he does, then he tries to do as much as he can with it. If he doesn’t, he is happy to take first base.
Not expanding the zone has been huge for the Yankees infielder. If he can start hitting the ball with more authority, he could fully break out and give the bottom of the lineup more punch. The team is happy with his production, though, both offensively and defensively.
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For the Yankees to gain a competitive edge, they need Volpe to keep up the momentum as we head to the World Series. The Dodgers are top-notch and New York will need all the runs they can get, and the root of producing runs in bunches is having good at-bats.
If Volpe can keep his OPS over .800 for the World Series while maintaining his OBP up, he will be a nice asset that will help lengthen the Yankees lineup.
