Anthony Volpe Is a Bottom of the Lineup Hitter.
He's a defensive specialist
Anthony Volpe is hitting .253/.307/.380 so far in 2024. Because offense is so down in 2024, that’s basically an average batting line. That’s pretty much in line with his Statcast numbers.
As a leadoff hitter, Volpe’s batting line is pretty dreadful. The Yankees only moved him up after all of their other options were injured or struggling. Now that he’s batting 6th or lower, at least against right-handed pitching, we can think a little more about Volpe’s overall contribution to winning games. He’s amazing!
Volpe is currently 25th in fWAR, worth 2.7 wins over replacement. He’s on track for 5 wins in 2024, more than double his 2023 rates. The difference has been almost entirely on defense.
Volpe’s defense in 2023 was controversial. He won the AL Gold Glove Award at shortstop. But, I don’t think a lot of Yankee fans who watched him every day thought that he deserved it. He looked like a solid major league shortstop, but nothing special. The defensive metrics were all over the place, with Statcast’s OAA giving him a pretty average +1 runs, UZR similar at +2.9 runs and DRS giving him a Gold Glove-worthy +15 runs.
This year, there is little disagreement about Volpe’s defense. He looks rangier. He rarely makes mistakes. Pretty much every metric has him as one of the top three defensive players in the entire league.
Let’s dig a little deeper. Here is Statcat’s OAA at shortstop in 2023:
Volpe was great at fielding the modal shortstop ground ball to his right. He was below average at fielding pretty much every other ball. Add it all up and you get a pretty average fielder.
Here’s 2024:
Volpe has improved on pretty much all plays. He’s still probably the best fielder in baseball on the typical ball in middle of the left side of the infield. But, he’s now also elite at fielding balls up the middle, and balls hit further to his right. He has no obvious weaknesses.
The extra range up the middle is even more impressive given that Volpe is standing a step or two further toward third base in 2024:
The bottom line is that Volpe’s defensive progress looks impressive. Scouting reports regularly questioned whether he could stick at shortstop less than two years ago. Now, he’s right up there with Bobby Witt for best in baseball.
When you add in his average-ish batting line, excellent baserunning and league minimum salary, you get a massively valuable player for the Yankees. But, not when he’s batting in front of Soto and Judge. The other players on the Yankee roster who don’t provide tons of defensive value need to step up or be replaced. Volpe is fine where he is.
Volpe's approach needed to change from last year, but it was as if someone told him to just get on base. With Soto and Judge hitting behind him that is very possible. His OBP is up (but not lately), but he doesn't hit the ball hard (regressed from last year). He never seemed to be a leadoff hitter type in the minors, so yes, dropping him down the lineup and just let him hit the ball with a little more elevation and pop might be a good thing. We thought of him as a bat first prospect but now he is defensive specialist?