This is the Best Volpe We’ve Seen

To be clear:

I’ll stand by every criticism I’ve directed at Anthony Volpe’s (lack of) hitting over the past three seasons, and I’ll certainly stand behind by my criticisms of how the Yankees organization has comically mismanaged the shortstop position for longer than that.

That said:

Anthony Volpe is the best he’s ever been in the batter’s box and not enough people are talking about it.

In 2023, Volpe had the highly undesirable combination of striking out at a high rate without having the power (a cringeworthy .383 SLG) or the good walk rate (8.7%) to render the whiffs irrelevant.

In 2024 there was a clear philosophical change to have Volpe shorten up on his swing and put the ball in play. That mindset is archaic for a reason, so Volpe being one of the worst hitters in baseball last season was not a surprising outcome.

So far in 2025, Volpe’s results have been pretty good (114 wRC+) but likely because his results were good through May in both 2023 and 2024 due primarily to good batted ball fortune, many folks are still skeptical – understandably so. I’m not here to tell you to rid yourself of skepticism, but I am here to remind you (because I’ve said it before) that Volpe’s good results in 2025 are due to him performing well, not because of luck.

Unlike the previous iterations of Volpe, 2025 Volpe takes pitches, draws walks, and hits the ball hard – which is to say he’s been a good hitter.

Volpe’s chase rate is not only in the 93^rd percentile league wide, but it’s better than Aaron Judge’s in ’25 and significantly better than in Volpe’s first two seasons when it was below average. This has led to him almost doubling his walk rate from last season up to an impressive 75^th percentile MLB rank. (Reminder: When you’re a good baserunner, walks a very, very, good.)

Just as importantly, when he is swinging, he’s hitting the ball hard. His average exit velocity in 2025 ranks in the 80^th percentile league wide and is up 4 mph from last season. Additionally, both his hard-hit rate and barrel rate are better than league average as well so far this season.

This is not by accident…

Last season Volpe had a short, but glacially slow (15^th percentile) swing in order to reduce the K rate – it didn’t work. (Alex Verdugo was the only Yankee to have a shorter swing and/or slower bat – insert joke). This season, Volpe is hitting the ball harder and getting better results because he’s swinging harder – his bat speed has been above MLB league average in ’25.

We’re not splitting atoms folks – “lay off the bad pitches and hit the good ones hard” has been the best hitting approach forever. That’s what Volpe is doing, that’s why he’s seen good results and importantly, it’s why the results are far more likely to stick this season than they did in ’23 and ’24. (His expected outcomes are almost exactly in line with what they should be thus far in ’25.)

If this does stick it would be a massive boon for the team. Given his defense and baserunning, a Volpe with a 114 wRC+ is a four-to-five-win player at age 24. In other words, he’d be what the Yankees told us he’d be…

Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments, or yell at me on the “My Baseball Page” on Blue Sky.

Recommended reading: “Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig”

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