At 24 years old, Anthony Volpe is already an accomplished player, a Gold Glove defender, 20–20 club member, and postseason catalyst, and yet he’s still just scratching the surface of his potential. Yes, he has faced some struggles in 2025, but all the evidence (from advanced analytics to his own track record of adjustments) suggests he will overcome them. His combination of power, speed, defense, and baseball IQ is exceedingly rare in a shortstop, especially one this early in his career. Those tools, coupled with his proven resilience and big-game pedigree, make it clear that Volpe is the Yankees’ best option at shortstop now, as he helps the team win games today with his all-around contributions, and in the immediate future. He projects to get even better as he enters his prime. Comparisons to other options such as his newly acquired teammate, José Caballero, only reinforce Volpe’s superiority as a player with more impactful skills and higher upside. The Yankees have entrusted Volpe with the keys to shortstop and have every reason to remain confident in that decision. If his minor league exploits and first three MLB seasons are any indication, Anthony Volpe has both the talent and the tenacity to anchor the Yankees’ infield for years to come, and to continue growing into a true franchise cornerstone at shortstop.
Minor League Dominance (2019-2022): Early Promise
Anthony Volpe entered the Yankees organization with lofty expectations, and for good reason. A first-round pick in 2019, Volpe quickly proved himself as one of baseball’s elite prospects. In 2021 he was named MLB Pipeline’s Hitting Prospect of the Year after slashing .294/.423/.604 with 27 home runs and 33 stolen bases in 109 games. The very next season, he became the first minor leaguer since Andruw Jones in 1995 to post a 20+ homer, 50+ steal season, swiping 50 bags and belting 21 homers across Double-A and Triple-A. Overall, in the minors, Volpe hit .262 with an outstanding .376 on-base percentage and .881 OPS, tallying 50 homers and 89 steals in 1044 at-bats. Scouts lauded his well-rounded game, above-average hitting ability and power (both graded 60 on the 20-80 scale), plus speed, and solid defense, projecting him as an overall 60 prospect grade as a prospect. In fact, he entered 2023 ranked the No. 5 prospect in all of Major League Baseball. This blend of minor-league production and scouting reports painted Volpe as a potential franchise shortstop, and the Yankees fast-tracked him to the Bronx.
Rookie Season (2023): Struggles and Spark
Volpe made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster in 2023 at age 21 and immediately took over as the starting shortstop. As expected of any rookie, he endured some offensive growing pains, finishing with a .209 batting average and .283 OBP. However, those surface numbers mask the value he provided. Volpe still launched 21 home runs, drove in 60 runs, and stole 24 bases in 159 games, becoming the first Yankee ever to hit 20+ homers and steal 20+ bases as a rookie. In fact, he was one of just 16 rookies in MLB history to accomplish a 20–20 season. More impressively, he played sterling defense at shortstop, posting 16 Defensive Runs Saved (2nd among all MLB shortstops) and a .970 fielding percentage. His glovework earned him the American League Gold Glove at shortstop, an incredibly rare honor for a rookie (the first ever by a Yankees rookie at any position). Volpe’s 2023 season had highlights that hinted at his clutch ability as well: ten of his 21 homers either tied the game or gave the Yankees the lead. By season’s end, despite a below-average 70 wRC+ at the plate, Volpe’s all-around contributions made him roughly a 3-WAR player. He proved he could stick in the majors, providing power, speed, and defense even while adjusting to MLB pitching.
Year Two (2024): Growth and October Heroics
In 2024, Volpe showed significant improvement and established himself as the Yankees’ everyday shortstop of both the present and future. Offensively, he raised his batting average to .243 and collected 155 hits. Notably, he cut down his strikeouts and improved his on-base skills slightly (42 walks) while still showcasing extra-base hit ability (27 doubles and 7 triples). His power output dipped to 12 home runs, but he remained a threat on the bases with 28 stolen bases. Volpe’s sophomore campaign was marked by consistency and durability, he played in 160 games (tied for the most in MLB), including a 34-game on-base streak and a 21-game hitting streak during the summer. These extended hot stretches (.285 average over the first 65 games of 2024) demonstrated Volpe’s ability to adjust and produce over a full season.
Most importantly for the Yankees, Volpe proved he could rise to the occasion in postseason play. The young shortstop started all 14 of New York’s postseason games in 2024 and was a key contributor throughout their World Series run. He hit .286 with a .407 on-base percentage in the postseason, scoring 10 runs and swiping 5 bases. In the ALCS, he was especially potent, batting .353 and reaching base multiple times in three of the five games. Volpe even delivered in baseball’s biggest stage: in Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, he blasted a go-ahead grand slam that helped the Yankees stave off elimination. At 23 years old, that grand slam put him in the history books, as he became just the third-youngest Yankee ever to hit a postseason grand slam (behind legends Mickey Mantle and Gil McDougald). Although the Yankees fell short in that World Series, Volpe’s October performance (.286/.407/.408 overall) cemented his reputation as a poised, big-game player. It’s clear that even at a young age, he can handle the pressure and bright lights of the playoffs.
Defensively, Volpe remained a reliable presence in 2024. He didn’t win a second Gold Glove, but he continued to flash excellent range and instincts at short. By the end of his second year, Volpe had also achieved a unique milestone: with 32 home runs and 52 stolen bases over 2023-24 combined, he became the first player in Yankees history to total 30+ homers and 50+ steals in his first two seasons. In other words, through two years Volpe displayed a rare combination of power, speed, and defense, the traits that make him so valuable to the Yankees now and moving forward.
Overcoming Adversity (2025): Growing Pains and Progress
This year (Volpe’s third season) has been a story of adjustments, some challenges at the plate and in the field, but also clear signs of growth that affirm his status as the Yankees’ shortstop of the future. As of September 5, 2025, his batting line sits at .208/.271/.397 (about a .668 OPS), which on the surface looks underwhelming. Indeed, he has endured extended slumps this season that dragged down his average. However, focusing only on those traditional stats would be misleading. Early in 2025, Volpe’s performance showed marked improvement from the year before. Throughout the first two months, he was hitting .246 with a .767 OPS, and his overall offensive production (measured by wRC+) was about 16% above league average (116 wRC+). Even after cooling off in the summer, advanced metrics indicate Volpe has been somewhat unlucky and is better than his basic stats suggest. For example, his Statcast expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) in 2025 is .341, significantly higher than his actual .323 wOBA, hinting that his quality of contact hasn’t fully translated into results. He’s hitting the ball harder than before, his slugging percentage rebounded to .396 with 19 home runs so far, already more than he hit in 2024, and his Statcast metrics like average exit velocity and barrel rate have all improved since his rookie year. In fact, between 2024 and 2025 Volpe raised his Barrel% and Hard-Hit% by 6.4 and 12.6 points respectively, indicating he’s making much more impactful contact at the plate.
Perhaps the most encouraging offensive development for Volpe in 2025 is his plate discipline. He transformed his approach by becoming far more selective without sacrificing power. His walk rate jumped from just 6.1% in 2024 to over 10% in 2025, which ranks in the upper third of MLB hitters. Under the hood, he slashed his chase rate (swings at pitches outside the zone) from 29% last year to an elite 20% O-Swing this year, one of the best rates in baseball at not expanding the zone. This newfound patience has led to more free passes and better pitches to hit. As one analyst noted in May, Volpe’s overall line at that point (.235/.323/.422) equated to a 112 wRC+ and put him on pace for a 5-WAR season. Even though an extended, disastrous mid-season slump tempered those numbers, it’s clear that a more patient, powerful version of Volpe is emerging. At just 24 years old, he is still an evolving hitter and has already shown the ability to make adjustments from one year to the next. Given league-wide offensive conditions (the average AL hitter is batting only .241 with a .702 OPS in 2025), Volpe’s production, especially for a premium defensive position, remains valuable.
On the bases, Volpe’s stolen base total is down a bit in 2025 (16 SB so far), but that is partly a function of a lower on-base rate. He is still a plus baserunner with top-tier speed (his Sprint Speed ranks in the 86th percentile) and superb instincts. When he does reach, he’s a threat to steal or take extra bases, and his FanGraphs Speed Score ranks top-30 in MLB. As the regular season winds down, Volpe has an opportunity to finish strong; his talent and underlying stats suggest he can overcome the year’s struggles. Importantly, the Yankees have remained patient and confident in him. Boone has kept him in the lineup every day, a sign that they trust his ability to adjust and contribute even when the results ebb and flow.
Defensively, 2025 has been unexpectedly challenging for Volpe, but both the team and player believe it’s a temporary “defensive slump.” After winning the Gold Glove in 2023, Volpe set a high standard for himself. This season, he’s committed a league-high 15 errors at shortstop (tied for most in MLB as of late July). Some of those miscues have been routine plays uncharacteristically flubbed, which Volpe himself admits is “frustrating”. Yankees manager Aaron Boone has noted that Volpe at times started playing “not to make mistakes” instead of with his usual aggressive confidence. The good news: the Yankees see this as a mental hurdle rather than a lack of skill. “One thing is for certain, he’s really good out there,” Boone said, maintaining faith that Volpe will get through this rough patch. Volpe has also remained upbeat, saying he knows his own high standard and is determined to “keep pushing” to meet it. It’s worth noting that despite the spike in errors, advanced fielding metrics early in 2025 still rated Volpe as above-average, ranking 11th among MLB shortstops in Statcast Fielding Run Value through the first half. In other words, his range, quickness, and many of his plays have continued to grade well. The handful of impactful, ill-timed errors have skewed the perception of Volpe.
2025 and Beyond: Why Volpe Is the Best Option
Considering everything, the early achievements, the current season context, and future projections, Anthony Volpe clearly stands out as the Yankees’ best option at shortstop, both for the present and the long term. Despite the junior-year slumps, Volpe’s overall performance and trajectory outshine any alternative the team has. He offers a rare package of youth, pedigree, and proven MLB experience that is hard to match.
Given his track record, it’s reasonable to expect Volpe will iron out the defensive lapses. At 24, he’s already proven himself an elite defender (as the Gold Glove and 16 DRS in 2023 showed), so the current bout of miscues is likely an anomaly. With experience, he should learn to relax and trust his abilities in the field again. The Yankees have every incentive to stick with him through these growing pains, a young shortstop of his caliber is simply too valuable to abandon. And indeed, in games where Volpe has struggled defensively, he’s often bounced back with a big play or hit, showing resilience. For example, on July 29, he had a go-ahead RBI single, a steal of third, and a long home run in a win against Tampa Bay, all while committing two errors earlier in the night. That mix of persevering through mistakes and still contributing to wins exemplifies why the Yankees trust Volpe.
Volpe’s ceiling and talent level far exceed those of stopgap options. He’s four years younger than any other shortstop in the organization’s mix and already an above-average MLB player. For instance, the Yankees acquired 28-year-old utility infielder José Caballero at the 2025 trade deadline, prompting some fans to wonder if he could challenge Volpe. Caballero does bring one standout skill, speed, as he actually led the American League with 44 stolen bases in 2024. However, when comparing the two players, it’s evident that Volpe is superior across the board. Caballero is a useful role player, but his career batting average is just .225 with only 15 home runs in MLB through August 1, 2025. He lacks Volpe’s power and overall offensive upside. By contrast, Volpe has already launched 52 home runs in his young career and has shown he can be at least a league-average hitter (or better) while playing a premium position. Even in a down year, Volpe’s OPS is roughly on par with Caballero’s career mark, and Volpe’s demonstrated ability to draw walks and hit for extra bases gives him a higher offensive ceiling.
While Caballero can adequately fill in defensively at shortstop, Volpe is a true shortstop with Gold Glove ability. Volpe’s range and arm have been vetted over nearly 300 MLB games, whereas Caballero has mostly played second base and spot duty. Importantly, Volpe is significantly younger, Caballero is in his prime at 28, while Volpe at 24 is still approaching his. The Yankees did not trade a top prospect (Everson Pereira) for Caballero expecting him to take Volpe’s job; rather, Caballero is there to provide bench depth, speed off the bench, and occasionally start when Volpe or others need rest. There’s a reason New York immediately installed Volpe as the everyday shortstop in 2023 and have never wavered, the organization believes Volpe is a cornerstone player. His makeup, work ethic, and improvements year over year back that up.
Going forward, Volpe has far more room to grow. Boone and New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman have repeatedly expressed their commitment to Volpe as the present and future at shortstop, and it’s easy to see why. When pondering other possible shortstop options, the same logic applies. The free agent market or trade market might offer veterans, but they would be costly and few, if any, could match Volpe’s upside. Consider that Volpe is providing league-average shortstop production at essentially the league minimum salary (under $1 million). That kind of surplus value is immensely important for roster building. Instead of spending $30 million a year on a marquee name, the Yankees have a homegrown shortstop who is already outperforming many highly paid peers. For example, through mid-2025 Volpe had a higher WAR than expensive veterans like Carlos Correa, despite Correa earning nearly 40 times Volpe’s salary. Investing playing time in Volpe also aligns with the Yankees’ long-term plans, he’s under team control for years to come, meaning he can be a linchpin of the infield well into his prime.
Finally, Volpe’s intangible qualities solidify why he’s the best choice going forward. By all accounts, he’s a hard worker and quick learner; each year he has identified weaknesses and addressed them (be it adding strength for more power or adjusting his batting approach for more patience). He carries himself with poise, evident in how he handled the New York spotlight as a rookie and again in the postseason. His teammates and coaches rave about his makeup and leadership potential, often invoking the work ethic and calm demeanor of past Yankees greats. Volpe grew up a Yankees fan in New Jersey, and he’s embraced the challenge of being the next long-term shortstop at Yankee Stadium, a position with a storied lineage (from Phil Rizzuto to Derek Jeter). That kind of drive and buy-in cannot be easily replicated by an outsider or journeyman player.
No responses yet