Yankees rave about Anthony Volpe’s patient approach after big day vs. Twins
MINNEAPOLIS – Aaron Boone contemplated giving Anthony Volpe some rest on Wednesday, but the rookie shortstop ultimately led off. It’s safe to say Boone doesn’t regret that decision.
Volpe had a huge day offensively, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a double, two walks and one strikeout in a 12-6 Yankees win that avoided a series sweep. The neophyte’s three RBI tied Aaron Judge and the Twins’ Jose Miranda for the game-high, and they helped the Yankees secure a sizeable, early lead.
“Overall, [I] feel pretty comfortable,” Volpe said afterward. “I feel like I’m seeing the ball well. I just want to put together good at-bats. As long as I feel like I’m doing that, I feel like I’m helping the team win.”
Volpe’s hits helped spark an offense that had been dormant in recent days, but it was his walks and general patience that drew rave reviews in the Yankees clubhouse afterward. That’s nothing new, though, as Volpe has demonstrated a sharp eye at the plate since Opening Day.
Even when Volpe began his career with a .180 average over his first 60 plate appearances, he still maintained an on-base percentage above .300.
“That, for me, is a sign of maturity beyond his years,” Anthony Rizzo said of the 21-year-old. “When you’re not getting your hits, it’s easy to try to hit your way out of it. But to take your walks, see your pitches… it just sets up our lineup for success.”
Volpe is now hitting .228 with a .358 on-base percentage overall. Those marks jump to .280 and .400 over his last seven games and .292 and .424 over his last 15.
Volpe said that he experienced some frustration when hits weren’t falling right out of the gate, but chats with the Yankees’ veterans reminded him that baseball’s long season comes with peaks and valleys, and he was still settling in.
Rather than trying to swing out of an early-career funk, as Rizzo noted, Volpe stuck with the approach that got him to the big leagues.
“I definitely tried to not change anything and not really put too much into the results,” said Volpe, who takes pride in controlling the zone. “I felt like if the results weren’t there and I was kind of chasing, then I’d kind of be worried about where I was at. But when I knew that I wasn’t doing anything like that and just staying myself, I felt like I was going to be okay.”
After starting the season off in the nine-hole, Volpe has been leading off since Giancarlo Stanton hit the injured list in mid-April. DJ LeMahieu, the Bombers’ go-to leadoff man since joining the organization in 2019, moved to the middle of the lineup when that happened.
Judge, the Yankees’ usual No. 2 hitter, explained the differences LeMahieu and the speedier Volpe bring to the top of the order.
“DJ, you’re gonna see eight pitches when he’s up there. He’s gonna foul some stuff off, take some good pitches. He’s probably gonna be on first base. He’ll usually drive a baseball,” Judge said. “And then a guy like Anthony, his singles turn into triples easy. He’ll get on first base, but you give him two pitches, he’ll be on second. You give him another pitch, he’ll be on third. They both offer different things. I know with Anthony, I just gotta put the ball in play and he’s probably gonna get to third or score. It’s a fun two guys to have hitting in front of you, that’s for sure.”
Volpe has eight stolen bases this season.
For the record, Judge wasn’t stating a preference for who’s in front of him — he called LeMahieu “one of the best hitters in the game” — but moving the utility man down and Volpe up creates a different dynamic for the Yankees’ lineup.
That was the case when Volpe was mostly just walking and running. Now base knocks are consistently happening, too.
“He’s had really good at-bats for a while now,” Rizzo said. “Even when he’s not getting hits necessarily, he’s still getting deep in the count.
“Hopefully he keeps hitting and developing.”
