Peraza Has Always Been Better Than Volpe

There are so many directions in which a Yankee fan can cast frustrations today, but we’re going to keep it simple by sticking to just one because it’s the easiest to address:

Oswald Peraza is a better player than Anthony Volpe. As we sit here today, it is impossible to make a serious counterargument to that statement. But in the event you think I’m suffering from recency bias, and I’m overreacting to a Volpe slump and a Peraza hot streak in Triple A, let’s back up a bit…

In 2021, Volpe toyed with A ball pitchers over 54 games before being promoted to high A where he continued to smash baseballs (154 wRC+ in 256 PA). In 2022 he was moved up to Double A where he continued to hit well (122 wRC+ in 497 PA) and was eventually promoted to Triple A where he came back down to earth, posting a 91 wRC+ 99 PA. As you likely remember, he had a very good spring in ’23 with the big club and was handed the starting shortstop job without questions or caveats.

Comparatively, when in high A ball Peraza posted a 144 wRC+ – close to Volpe’s 154. When he moved up to Double A in 2021, he continued to hit well with a 122 wRC+ (exactly the same as Volpe’s Double A production) in 353 PA. After a slow start in Triple A in ’22, he finished strong and ended up with a solid 106 wRC+ in 429 PA. This season in Triple A, he’s posted a 125 wRC+ in 161 PA and is currently on a 19 game on base streak.

Let’s remember that no one feels that Peraza is not better defensively than Volpe and both are plus baserunners. Yet when we just talk about hitting, they were close to the same hitter in high A, exactly the same hitter at Double A (which means Peraza was a better player because he’s a better defender) and Peraza is much better in Triple A than Volpe was.

We don’t need to spend too much time on Volpe’s MLB performance, but we can agree that an Outs Above Average in the 12^th percentile and a 70 wRC+ is awful. The only positive is the 15 out of 15 on stolen base attempts but that’s only valuable if you get on base, and Volpe’s .264 is both awful and trending in the wrong direction. And again – Peraza is a plus baserunner too.

Peraza is so much better right now that MLB pitchers can cut his production down by 40% and he’d still be a better hitter than Volpe has been in ’23. Even that is highly unlikely as we’ve seen in his scattered 95 PA in the show he clearly hasn’t been overmatched (113 wRC+). But it’s not just that he’s clearly better now – there’s never been a time above A ball in which Peraza hasn’t outperformed Volpe.

And I shouldn’t have to say it, but I will anyway: No, I am not “giving up” on Volpe. It’s still more likely than not he’s going to be a good MLB player. But that time is, rather obviously, not now.

Yes, the Yankees have many problems. But this one is such an easy and obvious fix it begs serious questions about whoever is making this particular roster non-decision – Hal? Cashman? The old school saviors Minaya and Sabean?

Regardless, if Peraza gets 72 games and 269 PA and doesn’t exceed a 70 wRC+ and 12^th percentile OAA, I’ll come back and apologize – but we both know Peraza is better than that.

Did I miss anything? Let me know. Leave a comment below or yell at me @mybaseballpage1 on Twitter and/or the “My Baseball Page” on Facebook.