New York Yankees fans are all on the Anthony Volpe hype train, and so is superstar outfielder and new team captain Aaron Judge.
The New York Yankees were out of the shortstop free agency market for the past two offseasons. The reason had nothing to do with money. Rather, they had high hopes for their top prospect in Anthony Volpe, who is also highly touted across all of the majors. Now, he has his shot to be the team’s Opening Day shortstop, as he’s in a competition alongside veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa and fellow top prospect Oswald Peraza.
Thus far in spring training, Volpe has impressed those who watched the games, for his hitting ability and seamless defensive skills at shortstop. There is now a new latest member of the “Anthony Volpe Bandwagon,” and that is superstar outfielder and team captain Aaron Judge.
Judge said, via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, that Volpe “checks all the boxes defensively, offensively.” Not only that, but Judge expressed his belief that if you’re the best player, regardless of age, “you should be up helping the New York Yankees.”
Aaron Judge praises top Yankees prospect Anthony Volpe
And just like that, Yankees fans who were all-in in Volpe now have their biggest backer in Judge.
Volpe has been crushing it throughout the spring, to the point of where it would be downright laughable if the team opted against including him on the Opening Day roster, one way or another.
As of this writing, Volpe has played in six games, recording a .353 batting average, a .450 on-base percentage, a .647 slugging percentage, one home run, one RBI, three stolen bases, five runs scored, and six hits.
At the end of last season, it became evident that the Yankees needed to explore all of their options regarding the shortstop position. Kiner-Falefa, while formerly a Gold Glove winner who was supposed to settle in easily, struggled on defense. As for Peraza, he was a late-season call-up, and only got 11 starts at shortstop. In the ALCS against the Astros, manager Aaron Boone started Kiner-Falefa, Peraza, and Oswaldo Cabrera at short in that four-game span. That led the Yankees to declare that there would be an open competition this spring.
Whether Volpe wins the starting job this spring remains to be seen. If he doesn’t, it may only be a matter of time until Yankees fans spot him in the lineup at some point this upcoming season. He already has a big fan and believer in him in Judge.
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