{"id":88513,"date":"2024-10-30T19:14:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T23:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=88513"},"modified":"2024-10-30T19:14:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T23:14:47","slug":"anthony-volpe-signs-growth-2024-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/30\/anthony-volpe-signs-growth-2024-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Signs of Growth for Yankees Shortstop in His Sophomore Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New York Yankees shortstop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/volpean01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-30_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Volpe<\/a> delivered the team&#8217;s signature moment of the World Series so far with a grand slam in an 11-4 Game 4 win.\u00a0 Volpe has enjoyed a strong postseason overall despite a lack of slug. He has nearly matched the ultra-patient <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=sotoju01,soto--004jua&amp;search=Juan+Soto&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-30_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Juan Soto<\/a> in walk rate while maintaining a tenable strikeout rate.\u00a0 Many were hoping for the young shortstop to take a leap offensively this season, which unfortunately did not come to fruition. However, there are still plenty of positive elements in his profile that provide a sturdy foundation moving forward.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Storybook stuff from Anthony Volpe ? <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WorldSeries?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WorldSeries<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0OSE7jIdPy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/0OSE7jIdPy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB (@MLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB\/status\/1851475072013176851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Anthony Volpe Showing Signs of Growth Two Seasons In<\/h2>\n<h3>A Contact-First Approach<\/h3>\n<p>Through the first two months of the season, Volpe was focusing on making contact at the expense of power. The results were <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/30\/volpe-hitting-streak-yankees\/\" target=\"_self\">very good<\/a>, with a slash line of .282\/.352\/.432 (125 wRC+).\u00a0 The quality of contact was noticeably down from his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/03\/30\/volpe-era-begins\/\" target=\"_self\">rookie season<\/a>, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/anthony-volpe-offseason-swing-adjustments\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">swing adjustment<\/a> he made over the offseason to flatten it out and make more contact was working for him. He significantly cut his pull rate as he looked to spray the ball to all parts of the field. This was a significant shift in approach for Volpe. In his rookie season, he sacrificed a higher strikeout rate to pull the ball and make hard contact. While the final line looked a bit bleak at an 82 wRC+, he produced a very exciting 20-20 season.\u00a0 Here are some key differences from his rookie season to the first two months of his sophomore season:<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 351px;\" width=\"382\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2023<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">March 2024 &#8211; May 2024<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">K%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">27.8%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20.5%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">73.4%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">81.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barrel%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pull%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">45.6%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">27.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GB%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">41.1%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">50.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Along with his new approach, he continued to excel as a defender after winning a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/11\/07\/anthony-volpe-wins-2023-al-gold-glove-award\/\" target=\"_self\">Gold Glove<\/a> last season. This combination proved to be very valuable as Volpe was a top 10 position player by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/leaders\/major-league?pos=all&amp;stats=bat&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2024&amp;month=1000&amp;season1=2024&amp;ind=0&amp;startdate=2024-03-01&amp;enddate=2024-05-31&amp;team=0&amp;sortcol=21&amp;sortdir=default&amp;pagenum=1\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fWAR<\/a> for the first two months. Given that his max exit velocity, an indicator of raw power, has been below average through his first two seasons at 108.7 MPH, it is possible that this contact-oriented approach better suits him. However, from June forward, Volpe struggled tremendously at the plate.<\/p>\n<h3>Regression<\/h3>\n<p>From June to the end of the regular season, Anthony Volpe was the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/leaders\/major-league?pos=all&amp;stats=bat&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2024&amp;month=1000&amp;season1=2024&amp;ind=0&amp;startdate=2024-06-01&amp;enddate=2024-11-01&amp;team=0&amp;pagenum=1&amp;pageitems=2000000000&amp;sortcol=17&amp;sortdir=asc\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">third-worst qualified hitter<\/a> by wRC+ at a poor 62.\u00a0 A major contributor to his early season hot streak was an unsustainable batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Once that number came back down to earth, along with other areas of regression, there were not many positives and lots of weakly hit groundouts. The quality of contact remained underwhelming and he was unable to maintain the high contact rate that helped propel his hot start.\u00a0 Ultimately, the approach to cut his strikeout rate in exchange for a loss in power produced a similar final result to his rookie season. However, there was a period in the second half when Volpe made the decision to swing harder after his slap hitting approach faltered.<\/p>\n<p>MLB.com writer Mike Petriello wrote an <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/hitters-improving-by-swinging-faster-in-2024\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">excellent piece<\/a> regarding four slap hitter profiles altering their approach to hit for more power, which included Anthony Volpe.\u00a0 Volpe was looking to get back to pulling the ball more in the second half, which meant he was swinging harder as a result.\u00a0 As you are looking to make contact out in front of the plate, this allows the bat to get up to speed faster. Out of the All-Star Break, this proved to be effective for him temporarily, as he was hitting the ball hard at a 46.2% rate, but it did not sustain.<\/p>\n<h3>Postseason Progress<\/h3>\n<p>With the stakes leveled up in the postseason, Volpe has performed very well. He has displayed an incredibly patient approach. Among all hitters in the postseason, he is swinging the least amount by a significant margin as well as chasing pitches outside the zone at the second lowest rate. Volpe has taken the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/3292610\/2022\/05\/05\/mlb-plate-discipline\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;get a good ball to hit&#8221;<\/a> approach to the extreme. His pitch selection has led to a strong slash line of .273\/.407\/.386 (132 wRC+) and encouraging underlying results.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Anthony Volpe this postseason:<\/p>\n<p>96.6 MPH EV ?<br \/>\n58.1% Hard-Hit% ?<br \/>\n.426 xwOBA ?<br \/>\n.528 xwOBACON ? <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aCzkrPZzAe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/aCzkrPZzAe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=garcia001rya,garcia004rya&amp;search=Ryan+Garcia&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-30_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ryan Garcia<\/a> (@RyanGarciaESM) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RyanGarciaESM\/status\/1851636817155514600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Anthony Volpe is hitting the cover off the ball in the postseason, and his results could be even better. This has all come under the brightest lights and against the highest quality of stuff from pitchers. This is a small sample size, but it is noteworthy that this impressive stretch has come against the best of the best as opposed to a random stretch during the regular season.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">you want to pitch in the playoffs? Your stuff better be damn good. 100=average in the regular season. 109=average this postseason. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qoLb9WPc1g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/qoLb9WPc1g<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eno Sarris (@enosarris) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/enosarris\/status\/1849211250880000215?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 23, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>We have seen two different versions of Anthony Volpe through his first two big league seasons. One hit for power while conceding a high strikeout rate, and one sacrificed power to make more contact. With more experience under his belt and self-awareness as a hitter, perhaps Volpe can mold together the positive elements of these separate approaches. The best hitters in baseball can both hit for power and make plenty of contact. These two different seasons for Volpe could allow him to have a malleable approach at the plate. The floor for Anthony Volpe as a player is already very high with his elite defense and baserunning, but the ceiling could be tapped into if he is unlocked as a hitter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"_tc-frame-inner\">\n<div class=\"_tc-content\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"_tc-actions\">Photo Credit: \u00a9 Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe delivered the team&#8217;s signature moment of the World Series so far with a grand slam in an 11-4 Game 4 win.\u00a0 Volpe has enjoyed a strong postseason overall despite a lack of slug. He has nearly matched the ultra-patient Juan Soto in walk rate while maintaining a tenable strikeout [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5308,"featured_media":88521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1071],"tags":[3461,2133],"class_list":["post-88513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yankees","category-mlb","tag-anthony-volpe","tag-juan-soto"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}