If 2023 - rapidly devolving into The Year From Hell - offered one redeeming point, it was be that Volpe survived the kind of season that, for less adorable tykes, could trigger a lifetime sentence to Scranton. His status as a former first-round pick and a local hero from Morristown, N.J., may have spared Volpe from a disheartening trip to Triple A. Others aren't so lucky. (See Florial, Estevan.)
But but BUT... he survived! Yesterday, Volpe was named "finalist" for the AL Gold Glove at SS, and while it's a nice gesture, I do recall Clint Frazier being similarly honored a few years back, prompting a Yankiverse-wide WTF? For most of our lives, MLB didn't name Golden Glove "finalists." Suddenly, it's the Golden Globes? Seriously, was Volpe really the AL's best fielding SS? Humina, humina, humina... I dunno.
Volpe also became a "20/20 man," which does not mean he'll hang with Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters (or that, at 22, he gets the reference.) He hit 21 HRs and stole 24 bases. Not Shohei. Not Canseco. But not bad. This year, 92 MLB players - practically one in four - bashed at least 20 HRs. In base-stealing, Volpe ranked 28th, just ahead of Thairo Estrada. (Ouch.) Also, after starting hot, he got thrown out a few times, seemed to lose his confidence, and stopped running.
Again, a long, grueling season.
But here's the reality of Year II:
Come spring, a quiet, Double-Secret Probation Doomsday clock will start ticking on Volpe, along with Giancarlo Stanton and maybe Anthony Rizzo. All three will be expected to immediately show that 2023 was a fluke, a mirage, a season for the ashtray. If they're not hitting well by - say - May 30, the fan base, the media and the front office will get mighty antsy.
Look, there is a chance that, this winter, Brian Cashman will tear this team apart. Volpe could go in a massive deal - Juan Soto, for example. But I wonder if Cashman is ready to roll such cataclysmic dice. His hands are tied in bloated contracts, no-trade clauses and The Two Hs: Hubris and Hype. The last thing he wants is to go down in Yankee history as having traded away the next star SS. He would never escape the Stygian shadow.
The Yankees still have high hopes for Volpe, and frankly, so do all of us. He could have spent most of 2023 at Scranton, and he would have been spared some horrible weeks. Elon Musk says you improve through failure, not success, and Volpe has yet to blow up on a launch pad.
If he can hit, say, .280, Volpe could become a generational Yankee star, up there on the marquee with Aaron and Gerrit. But he must show it next spring. If on June 1, he's hitting .200, yikes...
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For some context on the Gold Glove thing,
"Volpe had 1 OAA. Correa: 0 Seager: -1
Volpe had 16 DRS. Correa: -3 Seager: 5
Volpe had 2.9 UZR. Correa: -1.7 Seager: 4.8
Volpe had 6.2 Def. Correa: 3.5 Seager: 4.9
Volpe had 17 E. Correa: 6 Seager: 9
Volpe: 78% success rate. Correa: 76%. Seager: 77%
Good chance Volpe wins https://t.co/85qihAVpgJ
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) October 18, 2023"
I don't really know what most of these ratings mean and apparently there is no ETR (Eye Test Rating) where Volpe would be around 7.8, good but not great.
My hope is still that they give SS to Peraza and turn Volpe into a perennial All Star second baseman.
I get it that he might statistically beat Correa and Seager.
I just wonder if he's really the best fielding SS in the AL?
Frankly, I'm not 100 percent sure he's better than Peraza.
Just sayin'
Volpe may or may not be a better fielder than Peraza but he’s definitely shown more as a hitter. Has Peraza done anything to say he should be given a starting spot over Torres or Volpe? Those are the guys he’d be bouncing, and if that’s the case why not just play him at third? Seriously, even if Volpe is a slight downgrade defensively messing with him
By moving him (see Torres) doesn’t seem worth it
As my mother used to yell from the kitchen when my older brother was picking on me, "Leave the kid alone!" Jeez Louise, he's 22 and allowed to stumble a little out of the gate. And 20+ HRs isn't bad for a rookie or a shortstop in general.
He needs to get his hubris back on the basepaths and become more consistent at the plate.
That doesn't mean he works out with Stanton and starts striking out a lot more. I mean consistent in a good way.
All Volpe needs to attain a higher and more sustainable level of consistent success is a larger fielder’s glove so he can hide a Chicken Parm inside. Whether a bite sized mini sub or just a chunk of cutlet—-the Kid can stealthily raise his glove up “Pettitte Style” and Popeye down that sucker.
Agreed, the offensive expectations for Volpe will be much higher next year. He’s a fine defensive SS, just not the best. Peraza is at least his equal in the field, but his hitting was awful, and his nearly 200 PA was more than a small sample size. Volpe looked like a typical Yankee-trained hitter, swinging from the heels on every AB, striking out too much, unable to go the other way, and not a shred of situational awareness. That’s a lot to improve, but his youth, athleticism, enthusiasm, and desire could make him an impact player. So, no to moving Volpe to open SS for the very questionable Peraza.
Rizzo? Question mark for 2024, depending on his recovery from what seems to be a severe concussion. I would hope he would at least be a credible source of LH power in a lineup sorely in need of same, while providing his usual dependable glove work. However, prudence dictates the team should have a workable plan B, and I don’t mean the aging, declining LeMahieu.
I don’t see any hope whatsoever for Stanton. Sure, his stats may accrue depending on how many games he plays, but basically he is what he is, what we have seen the last few seasons.
Your move, Cashman…
From what we have seen, Peraza has a stronger arm...
Duque - Totally agree with you.
Sorry, but I have to dissent from the "We all have hope for Volpe" claim. Not because I have anything against the kid, but because he plays for today's New York Yankees.
Judging by the progress of the Oswaldii, Peraza and Cabrera, Volpe is much more likely to take a giant step backward next year than forward. Hell, he'll be lucky if the Yanks' vaunted training and coaching methods don't lead to him sustaining a career-ending injury, a la The Martian.
This is a team that cannot develop young players. No, that's wrong. This is a team that is an active menace to young players.
The only reason Judge did not join Sancho, Bird, Andujar, Fowler, The Red Menace, and who knows how many pitchers on the Slag Heap of History is because he was smart enough to hire his own coach. Otherwise, about the best that can be hoped for is developing into the sort of half-involved mediocrity that Gelyber Torres has become.
And no, Brian Cashman will not make a deal, giant or otherwise, for Juan Soto.
For next year's team, we must turn to the musical answer provided by the Talking Heads: Same as it ever was! (Or should that be, "Stop making sense!")
Little Tony! (Toni! Toné!) is an above average fielder. He can run and steal bases. He has good power for a middle infielder. He has Major Leaguer credibility, but he needs to put the ball in play more. He's 22. A different organization would help him improve. This Yankee Dynasty of Dismalness will fail him, the franchise and all of us.
Fuck you Hal.
Volpe did go the other occasionally, with great success. So he just has to pull his head out of his ass and listen to Sean Casey, who said that this should be a .270 hitter.
Will Volpe get it done next year and take a few steps forward? God only knows.
"other WAY" I meant
@ Hoss, Like you, I fear for all of these Yankee prospects. Is it the water here? Wow, just wow. Still can't get over what happened to The Martian. And next year, we'll have to watch and see if Austin Wells' mustache falls off. The joys of being a Yankee fan in the 21st century!
Same as it ever was, indeed!
This franchise seems cursed. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is their appropriate franchise epic. Cashman has the dead albatross around his neck, and it goes on and on and on!
I know, Hammer! On this Mickmas Day, I wonder if our Golden Century of domination meant using up all our karma.
It's Biblical, too. You know: seven years of feast, seven years of famine. Are we in for 100 years of suckitude? Seems likely!
100 Years of Suckitude
One Hundred Years of Suckitude by Gabriel Paul Márquez tells the multi-generational story of the Steinbrenner family, whose patriarch, Jorge Steinbrenner returned Los Yankees de Nueva York to greatness only to turn the franchise over to his son who through negligence and ineptitude destroyed it.
From Witapedia (I just made that up. There should be a website called Witapedia.)
Let's admit that few, if any teams have fan bases (at one time ownership) that sour on young players faster than the Yankees. There are plenty of young players who suck at first, are allowed to play through it and emerge as good-great players afterwards. Unless he is horrible next year for the first three months let's allow the Yankee coaches and scouts to do our thinnin'. Thet DO watch a different game than we do....
Cash traded Jordan Montgomery for Harrison Bader. Volpe'd have to become Jeter Jr. somewhere else after a trade to eclipse that fiasco. The Monty for Bader trade will be in the first paragraph of Cashman's obit.
Hear hear.
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