Anthony

Volpe

Volpe is hitting .192/.220/.231 in 82 plate appearances this month. His batting average this year is 37 points higher than it was as a rookie (.246 to .209), but his revamped approach hasn’t made him any more productive on the whole.

Volpe will get a day off to start the three-game set against Seattle. Oswaldo Cabrera will instead be the starter at shortstop behind Luis Gil and the Yankees’ pitching staff. Volpe has really struggled thus far in September with a .163 average, no extra base hits, and 17 strikeouts over 49 at-bats.

Volpe’s steal is the 23rd of the season. The 23-year-old shortstop doubled — his 26th two-bagger of the campaign — and drew two walks in a very solid fantasy outing. There have been just as many ups as there have been downs for Volpe in 2024, but it’s really hard to imagine he’s not going to be a fantasy star someday.

Volpe has been in and out of cold streaks during the season and came into the game in the midst of another one, going 11-for-59 (.186) in 15 games in August with just one steal. In that respect, Tuesday’s performance was certainly a welcome sight. The 23-year-old is up to 22 steals on the season, but has 11 home runs and is slashing .249/.300/.386 and has not quite built on his strong rookie performance in 2023. Considering Volpe was a career .262 hitter in 1,044 minor league at-bats, it might be time for fantasy managers to recalibrate their expectations of the young shortstop at least when it comes to his batting average and power upside.

Volpe benefitted from some extra rest as a result of Friday’s rainout after suffering a left foot contusion during Wednesday’s series finale against the Angels. The 23-year-old, who is batting .320 (24-for-75) with five homers and five steals in 18 games since last month’s Midsummer Classic thanks to a different offensive approach, is back at shortstop and batting seventh for the front end of Saturday’s twin bill at Yankee Stadium.

Boone added that Volpe is day-to-day with a left foot contusion following an early exit from Thursday one-sided loss to the Angels after fouling a ball off himself in the early stages of the contest. The positive news here is that Volpe doesn’t appear to be dealing with anything serious that would require a lengthy absence. He’ll likely wind up sitting out at least Friday’s series opener against the Rangers to rest and recover, but should be ready to return at some point over the weekend.

The nebulous injury designation is because Volpe is still undergoing further evaluation after fouling a ball off his left foot in the second inning of Thursday’s contest at a rain-soaked Yankee Stadium. The 23-year-old shortstop remained in the contest initially for a couple additional frames before being replaced in the eighth inning of the one-sided affair. The hope here is that he isn’t dealing with anything too serious. There should be an update on his status at some point in the near future.

As MLB.com’s Mike Petriello wrote on Saturday morning, Volpe has started swinging harder and pulling the ball in the air more often coming out of the Midsummer Classic. The slight change in approach from the all-fields mindset he employed earlier this year has resulted in five homers across 14 games since last month’s All-Star break. The 23-year-old slugged a two-run homer off Blue Jays starter José Berríos in the fifth inning and also tacked on an additional run-scoring single in the seventh inning as well.

Down big early, Volpe helped the Yankees close the gap with a two-run homer in the fifth inning to cut the Blue Jays’ lead to just three. It wouldn’t be enough to spur a comeback, but Volpe is blazing hot right now. This was his first game with multiple extra-base hits since April 1st and he’s hit in seven straight games with four home runs in his last 10. That’s 40% of his homers all season.

The 23-year-old has come out of the gates swinging it well after the All-Star break, going 16-for-47 (.340) with three home runs and four steals. Perhaps moving down in the order has helped him to take some pressure off and also see better pitches, but a lower spot in the order does fit his approach better and could be a boon for fantasy managers.