The New York Yankees have decided that Anthony Volpe will be their starting shortstop to enter the 2023 season.
Against all odds, he won the job over Oswald Peraza, who has mastered Triple-A and left a great taste with his 2022 MLB debut.
Volpe was just superior this spring, with a 1.064 OPS entering Monday.
On Monday, in the Yankees’ game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Volpe showed off another facet of his game: defense.
I think we could get used to this.
(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/cjFRitdztv
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2023
Yandy Diaz hit a hard grounder to the hole between third base and shortstop.
Volpe got to the ball in great fashion and placed a nice throw to the second baseman, DJ LeMahieu, who quickly pivoted to first base to complete the double play.
It could be a very nice double-play partnership for the Yankees in 2023.
The thing is that LeMahieu will rotate around the infield, because Gleyber Torres will get most of the work at second base.
Torres is a much better second baseman than he is a shortstop, so he, too, could form a nice partnership with Volpe.
Peraza is a superior defender than Volpe, but the latter is the better hitter and is not a bad fielder.
For the Yankees, the future is now.
Volpe, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Torres are all well under 30 and already in the bigs, while Peraza, Andres Chaparro, and Trey Sweeney wait for their turn in the high minors.
With a full slate of at-bats, Volpe has the tools to finish with a .280 batting average, 15-20 home runs, and at least 30 stolen bases.
He is very much a Rookie of the Year candidate in the American League.
