New York Yankees rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe is struggling at the plate, and scouts have provided some solutions for him to fix his swing.
The New York Yankees held an open competition for the starting shortstop job in spring training, and top prospect Anthony Volpe won it outright. Not only was it due to his ability to field at the position, but also how well he hit in the batter's box. With that, Yankees fans were hyped about a strong first season for Volpe, where he would make a significant impact in the team's success.
While there was always the potential for some rookie struggles in his first season, Volpe's approach at the plate has been an area of concern. After mashing home runs in the spring and putting up strong numbers in the minor leagues throughout his career, Volpe is striking out with ease.
In a recent column for the New York Post, MLB insider Jon Heyman spoke to two scouts who are big fans of Volpe to discuss his struggles at the plate. One scout had one radical solution for Volpe to improve his swing — go back down to Triple-A.
"He's going to have to go down to Triple-A," the scout said, h/t the New York Post. "He's going to have to relearn how to hit the ball up, and relearn how to hit the ball away. His hips are opening early and he's swinging uphill. The only pitch he can hit are pitches that are down and in."
MLB scout suggests Anthony Volpe needs to get sent down to improve his swing
A demotion has been one common suggestion amongst fans and members of the media. That suggestion has been further exemplified by the fact that Oswald Peraza is slashing .292/.360/.563 while recording 11 home runs, 24 RBI, 25 runs scored, and 42 hits in 34 games played with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
But, that's not in the Yankees' plans. Team owner Hal Steinbrenner has said that the team has no plans to send down Volpe, assuring him that he will be the starting shortstop for the season. General manager Brian Cashman also reiterated this point while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, as the team was in a massive slump with Aaron Judge sidelined with a right big toe injury. As for calling up Peraza to replace him, Cashman said that they plan on having him "finish off his development."
"When we made the decision to go with Volpe we stated it was a long-term commitment," said Cashman, h/t SNY. "Right now, we need our offense to do better but ultimately we're not relying, per se, on one of the rookies to fill in a gap.
"This offense is going to be geared up if the people we are more used to seeing are doing what they are capable of doing and that allows the younger guys to tuck in and find their way. He'll get his sea legs under him… He's contributing to us in smaller ways but there is obviously a bigger portion of his game that we look forward to seeing as the season goes on. We're not shying away from Anthony Volpe. We believe in him and we're invested in him and we know there's a payoff as long as we walk that tightrope with him."
On the year, Volpe recorded a .191 batting average, a .265 on-base percentage, a .350 slugging percentage, nine home runs, 25 runs scored, 27 RBI, 47 hits, 84 strikeouts, and 24 walks in 73 games played (246 at-bats).
While this scout believes a trip back down to Scranton Wilkes-Barre would do wonders for Volpe, that isn't in the Yankees' plans. There's still plenty of season left for Volpe to break out of his slump and become a threat in the batter's box like he was during spring training.
