The New York Yankees want to see Anthony Volpe improve his game at the plate after what happened in 2023. Last year, Volpe made his major league debut, and he was the center of the attention. After all, he was just 21 years old last season. Making his debut so young, the fans wondered how good he was. Moreover, the rookie proved to be really good at defense. But it was Volpe’s offense that attracted a lot of strict criticism. However, the rookie won a gold glove last year. Moreover, Anthony Volpe had a 20-20 season. It was a first for any Yankees rookie.
However, hitting 20 home runs and gaining 20 steals were not enough. Clearly, there was a problem with his stance at the plate. The rookie suffered a lot of strikeouts and a low batting average last year. However, it was not just him, as the whole team had a poor 2023 season with a really bad hitting average. The Yankees had the second-worst batting average in the league behind the Oakland Athletics. Moreover, they failed to make the postseason. Anyhow, coming to his sophomore season, Volpe has shown a lot of progress.
Anthony Volpe Is Developing Really Fast
According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, Anthony Volpe has gone straight from an unrefined but talented rookie to a veteran in his Year 2. The native New York player has been dealing with added responsibility in his sophomore season. After all, he is the new shortstop of the Yankees. But Volpe played a crucial role in the great start of the Bronx Bombers in 2024. After starting the 2024 season with a couple of series wins on the road, the NY side has also won their home opening series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Moreover, the sophomore Volpe also displayed vast improvement at the plate. Clearly, he changed his batting stance, and that’s helping him a lot.
Anthony Volpe has impressed his teammates as well. For instance, the catcher Jose Trevino said, as per Joel Sherman of The Post, he has seen a lot of guys at that age do their thing but not as quickly as Volpe doing it. Moreover, Trevino said Volpe is responding to the game very differently from what he did last year. Clearly, the adjustments Volpe made ahead of this season have been working. Moreover, the DH Giancarlo Stanton said, “What hasn’t Volpe done?” Adding to that, Stanton mentioned Anthony Volpe was all over the defense, and he hit the ball all over the field. On top of that, Volpe has been creating havoc on the bases for the opponents.
Yankees Manager Said The New Shortstop Is Starting To Look Like The Best All-Round Player
Aaron Boone told The New York Post that Anthony Volpe is gradually starting to look like the complete, well-rounded, good player he had the potential to be. After analyzing Volpe’s performance so far, Joel Sherman stated that his development is ahead of schedule. Moreover, the Yankees hurler Clay Holmes talked about the little plays Anthony Volpe made at the end in the last game against the Blue Jays, saying, that makes a huge difference.
Holmes believes the next step for Volpe is making more such game-changing moments that impact not just “Today’s” but “Tomorrow’s” games as well. Adding to that, the pitcher said that’s how a player becomes even more valuable to the team, and Volpe has that in him. In three weeks, Volpe will turn 23. But in his sophomore season, he’s playing like a senior. That’s why Joel Sherman said, “Year 2 has the feel of a veteran about Anthony Volpe.”
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