Ever since Derek Jeter retired, the Yankees have been looking for his successor. Not in terms of captains and face of the franchise, which of course was taken over by Aaron Judge. But, the successor for Jeter at short. Outside of Didi Gregorius, they haven’t been able to find that guy. Short has been a black hole for the bombers over the last few seasons. However, that all changed in 2023 when Anthony Volpe made the major league roster.
Volpe was selected in the first round of the 2019 MLB draft. This was a dream come true for Volpe as he was a big Yankees fan growing up in Morristown, New Jersey. His family even had family tickets to the Yankees for years. Despite missing an entire season of development due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Volpe rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the top prospect in the organization.
Entering 2023 spring training, it was a debate about whether or not to include Volpe on the Opening Day roster. Sure, he was the best shortstop in the organization. But, was he ready for the bigs? Did he need a little more time in the minors, while also giving the Yankees an extra year of control? However, the Yankees decided to give him a chance and it paid off. Over the past few seasons, Volpe has established himself as the shortstop of the future.
Volpe Plate Presence
When you think of the Yankees lineup one word comes to mind, power. The Yankees have lived or died by the home run over the past few seasons, with guys like Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, and Anthony Rizzo. Sure, guys like Judge and Soto can hit for both contact and power. However, everyone else was home run or bust. So much to the point where the Yankees offense would go red hot, or ice cold depending on the week.
However, Volpe isn’t one of them. He’s focused more on being a contact hitter, putting the bat on the ball, and getting on base. Although last season saw him go through typical rookie struggles, his sophomore season has seen him break out. So far this season, he has 69 hits, a .284 average, and a .352 on-base percentage. Add this to his above-average speed and he is the perfect lead-off hitter.
However, his biggest accomplishment this season has been his hit streak. Recently Volpe had his 21-game hitting streak snapped. This is the second-longest-hitting streak for a Yankee under the age of 23. The only player who had a longer streak was Joe DiMaggio back in 1931. DiMaggio had 22 games from June 27 to July 21. Any time you’re in the same sentence with a great like DiMaggio, you know you’re doing something right.
Defensive Capability
Although he won five Gold Glove awards, one of the biggest criticisms of Jeter was his defensive capability. He had a defensive runs save rating of -162 and an ultimate zone rating of -66.1 throughout his major league career. Those numbers suggest that Jeter was below average in the field. Volpe, however, is a different story.
The biggest positive you can take out of Volpe’s rookie season was his fielding ability. Volpe had a defensive run save of +15, the third-best rating in the majors and best of all rookie shortstops. The only two players ahead of him were Wander Franco and Dansby Swanson. He also had an ultimate zone rating of 2.9, which is pretty impressive for a rookie. This was good enough to earn him the Gold Glove Award.
So far this season, he’s been impressive in the field with his Gold Glove defense. He has a defensive run save of 3, which is third among shortstops this season. He also has an ultimate zone rating of 1.8, which is tied for third in the majors as well. Even if he goes through a cold streak, his defensive ability will keep him in the lineup.
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