Do the Yankees Have Their SS of the Future? Anthony Volpe Makes a Strong Case
Anthony Volpe via Startspreadingthenews.blog
In 2019, the New York Yankees held the 30th overall pick and used that said pick on SS Anthony Volpe. Anthony is a New Jersey born-and-bred native who grew up a Yankee fan. Volpe played baseball most of his life and became known at his high school in Delbarton, Morristown, NJ. His high school career ended with 88 H, 47 RBI, 82 R, 10 HR, 36 BB, and 19 SB all while posting an insane .449 BA (88-196). When reaching the minors, Volpe was shadowed by Yankees international phenom, Jasson Dominguez. Little did we know, Volpe was tearing it up in the minors. Volpe soared up the prospect rankings and now owns the Yankees #1 prospect title. In 2021, he was arguably the best player in the minor leagues and will be competing with Padres #1 prospect, CJ Abrams, for the top prospect spot in all of baseball in 2022.
2021 Stats
With the stick, Volpe led the Yankees minor leaguers in RBI (86), doubles (35), and walks (78). He finished 2ndin stolen bases (33), OPS (1.027), and home runs (27). To add to that impressive stat list, he also batted .297 in 109 games. In 54 games in Low-A, Volpe produced an outstanding .302 BA and in High-A, a very respectable .286. That’s not all about Anthony Volpe, he also is an outstanding defender, something the Yankees lack, even at the major league level. Volpe finished the 2021 season with a 962-fielding percentage. To put that into perspective, the Yankees major league SS for most of 2021 was Gleyber Torres. Torres finished with a 952-fielding percentage in just one more game than Volpe.
What’s Next?
Volpe played 2021 with the Yankees Low-A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons and the Yankees High-A affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades. This past Wednesday, the VP of player development Kevin Reese, stated that Anthony Volpe will start the 2022 season with the Yankees Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots. The expectation is that Volpe will produce the same productivity and hopefully make an impact in the big leagues soon. From 2009-2018, the Yankees have had 12 first-round/supplemental first-round picks. With those picks, only four have reached the majors with only one (Aaron Judge) having a 1.5 WAR or higher. It’s safe to say, the Yankees haven’t had much talent coming out from the farm in recent memory. Yankees GM, Brian Cashman described Volpe’s outstanding performance “refreshing” adding that he looks like “the real deal”.
Major League SS Situation
Although Anthony Volpe looks like the SS of the future, he is not major league ready quite yet. The 2021 season for the Yankees was another failed season with lots of issues. No bigger issue than the SS position. Gleyber Torres started at SS, and we saw the season end with Gio Urshela playing SS. So far, this offseason SS free agent class is stacked. Guys such as Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, and Trevor Story. However, with Correa and Story being the last high-end SS on the market, is Brian Cashman willing to commit that much money knowing Anthony Volpe might be on the way and Aaron Judge hitting free agency in 2023? Along with Volpe, the Yankees have their #3 top prospect, SS Oswald Peraza who finished the 2021 season in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, who was rumored to be seeing the major league level in 2022. The Yankees have also been talking internally about Oakland A’s star Matt Chapman playing SS as a stopgap until Volpe is major league ready. With seeing no end to the lockout anytime soon, the Yankees have many routes they could go. Do they sign a big-name star? Or will they sign a stopgap for their top prospect?