Brandon Lowe of the 80-52 Tampa Bay Rays took an extra dig at the New York Yankees after beating them two of three, referring to them as a “last-place team,” on his way to driving in four runs in the series finale. The series showed everything very wrong with the current mess that is the Yankees, and why the Rays are fundamentally superior. However, there is one lone bright spot, and that is their emerging shortstop Anthony Volpe. The rookie took a 1-1 breaking ball the other way for a two-run home run to temporarily give the Yanks a 4-2 lead before their bullpen collapsed in an eventual loss. Nevertheless, that homer showed positive signs to build from. The last-place Yankees have Volpe as a lone bright spot at least.
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Volpe has had a red-hot August. After struggling immensely with breaking balls all year and pulling the ball too much, he’s starting to figure it out. It is, therefore, a refreshing sign to see Volpe take a breaking ball the other way for a long home run. This is just one of a number of positive things Volpe has added of late.
Last-Place Yankees Have Volpe as Lone Bright Spot
Solid Power Numbers
So far, Volpe’s 18 home runs are more than Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Wander Franco have each had thus far this year, which stands on its own merit.
Without a doubt, Volpe has struggled for large chunks of his rookie year, but the Yankees deserve credit for sticking with him because he’s starting to become good. He’s having a very productive August, hitting five home runs in August alone. He has a .800 OPS and a .500 slugging percentage for the month. Plus, over his last 15 games, Volpe sports a .270 batting average and .600 slugging to go with four homers and 12 RBI. He’s trending in the right direction.
Having suffered through horrendous slumps at times this year, it’s good to see some real tangible progress from the young shortstop. Despite being in last place, the Yankees have Volpe as a bright spot.
Among American League rookies, Anthony Volpe currently ranks:
– 1st in G (129)
– 3rd in SB (20)
– 4th in RBI (53)
– 4th in BB (44)
– 5th in R (50)
– 5th in HR (18)
– 5th in TB (170)
– T/5th in XBH (37)#YANKSonYES x #RepBX pic.twitter.com/QFzDklBQa0— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 28, 2023
Sean Casey Effect?
New hitting coach Sean Casey has made no secret of how much he appreciates working with Anthony Volpe. He has stated how much he appreciates and respects Volpe’s work ethic. Specifically, he cited how Volpe loves the game of baseball and is desperate to get better.
Casey came in as a midseason replacement to try and get the Yankees back on track. The previous hitting coach, Dillon Lawson, and Cashman’s merry gang of sabermetrics guys had the Yankees with the worst batting average of any team in baseball not named the Oakland Athletics. Lawson focused too much on metrics and not the mechanics of hitting. Casey has at least tried to resemble a hitting coach in terms of trying to improve players’ approach at the plate. There have been slight improvements in that regard, but it’s hard to implement major changes mid-season. This is especially true for an organization so focused on a particular style of hitting. Primarily, exit velocity over contact is controversially preached throughout the organization.
Casey seems to be helping to improve certain individuals’ performances. One such example is DJ LeMahieu. In the second half of the year, DJ is looking more like the perennial .300 hitter he was up until the last two seasons. Volpe is improving along with DJ as the season continues.
A lot was made of a particular instance earlier this year where it took prospect Austin Wells telling Volpe at dinner (over a plate of chicken parm) about a hole in his swing. A player from Triple-A seeing something that the entire management staff didn’t seem to pick up on is terrible optics. Neither Boone, Lawson, nor their overly inflated room of analytic guys noticed it.
Volpe has steadily improved after that, not least since Casey has come in. His swing through the zone seems smoother, and he’s picking up on the variations of breaking pitches better than he was at the start of the year. A massive home run against Jesus Luzardo of the Miami Marlins a few weeks ago, plus these recent Rays series homers attest to this.
Things to Improve for Next Year
Volpe has still had more valleys than peaks in his rookie year offensively. He’s shown power but needs to improve his contact. This is evidenced by his lowly .215 batting average. Perhaps some of the damage has been Yankee management’s overemphasis on exit velocity rather than contact. For example, despite his low average, he maintains a solid output of 18 homers and 53 RBI.
Volpe still strikes out far more than he should. His 129 strikeouts are by far the worst on the team. Picking up on breaking balls and keeping his hitting mechanics simple should prevent long slumps. Ensuring he hits to all fields rather than being a strict pull hitter should see him improve also.
A Valuable Rookie
There are several things to appreciate about Volpe, one of which is his durability. Until Boone gave him a day off in the middle game of the Rays series, he had played in every game this year. Volpe brings a tangible energy to the clubhouse, as well as desire. These are two attributes that are in short supply elsewhere on the team. Another attribute the team lacks is speed. Volpe has been a bright spot in that department with 20 stolen bases.
One underrated aspect of Volpe’s game is his defense. So far in 2023, he has a +13 Defensive Runs Saved, which is top five among AL shortstops. His dWAR is also top five in the AL. He showed off his tremendous range with a diving play up the middle throwing out a runner earlier in the Tampa series.
Overall, Volpe is likely finishing with a 20-20 year of homers and stolen bases, while also playing very good defense. Being second in the team in RBI and fourth in home runs is pretty good going for the 22-year-old rookie. It is a good foundation to build on the rest of the way and into 2024.
Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
