(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
By now, everybody in baseball knows that the New York Yankees will give MLB’s number five prospect (according to MLB Pipeline) Anthony Volpe the chance to be the team’s starting shortstop.
He won the job fair and square with a stellar spring training performance, defeating Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
The 21-year-old is now poised to make some history.
“Volpe is scheduled to become the youngest #Yankees starting shortstop since Hall of Famer Derek Jeter’s debut at 20 years old in 1995,” ESPN’s Marly Rivera tweeted.
Volpe is scheduled to become the youngest #Yankees starting shortstop since Hall of Famer Derek Jeter’s debut at 20 years old in 1995. https://t.co/z3hwFrMcSw
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) March 29, 2023
The funny thing is that Volpe grew up idolizing Jeter and rooting for the Yankees.
It would be cool for him to follow in Jeter’s footsteps: from Rookie of the Year winner to World Series MVP and Hall of Famer.
Let’s not go that far, though.
Volpe is who he is, and that is a fine young hitter.
He doesn’t have Jeter’s ability to make contact, but he might have more power and similar speed.
In the last two seasons in the minors, Volpe homered 48 times and stole 83 bases, with healthy batting averages, on-base and slugging percentages.
His performance in 2021 and 2022 is vastly different from what he showed in 2019, the year in which he was drafted.
He worked hard on his physique and his swing during the pandemic, and the results are evident.
Volpe is, together with Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles, the best candidate to win the AL Rookie of the Year award this year.
Being the youngest shortstop to play for the Yankees since Jeter is a great honor, but if he is there it’s because he deserves it.
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