Anthony Volpe

Anthony Michael Volpe (born April 28, 2001) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023, winning the American League Gold Glove Award at shortstop in his rookie year.

Early life and amateur career

Volpe was born on April 28, 2001, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, a borough of New York City. Both of Volpe's parents are doctors. His father, Michael, is a urologist, and his mother, Isabelle, is an anesthesiologist. Michael Volpe is of Italian descent, and Isabelle Volpe is of Filipino descent.

Volpe spent his early years living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His family had partial season tickets to see the New York Yankees and Volpe became a fan of the Yankees. Volpe's family moved to Watchung, New Jersey, when he was in the fourth grade.

Volpe attended Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey, where he played for the school's baseball team and was a teammate of Jack Leiter. As a senior, he batted .488 with seven home runs, 34 runs batted in (RBIs), and 17 stolen bases. He was named the 2019 New Jersey High School Player of the Year by Perfect Game. Volpe committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Yankees selected Volpe in the first round, with the 30th overall selection of the 2019 MLB draft. He signed on June 10, receiving a $2.7 million signing bonus, and made his professional debut with the Pulaski Yankees of the Rookie Advanced Appalachian League. Over 34 games, he batted .215 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. During the COVID-19 shutdown, which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, Volpe worked to gain muscle and improve his swing.

To begin the 2021 season, Volpe was assigned to the Tampa Tarpons of the Low-A Southeast. After slashing .302/.455/.623 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs in 54 games played, Volpe was promoted to the Hudson Valley Renegades of High-A East. He spent a full season with the club, hitting 27 home runs and stealing 33 bases. Volpe is the minor leagues' first 20-homer, 50-steal player since Andruw Jones in 1996.

The Yankees assigned Volpe to the Somerset Patriots of the Double-A Eastern League for the start of the 2022 season. On June 26, Volpe hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning against the visiting Hartford Yard Goats. His solo homer delivered the Eastern League Northeast Division first-half title to the Somerset Patriots in a winner-take-all game between the division's top two teams. In July, Volpe represented the American League at the All-Star Futures Game. Volpe batted .252 with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs in 109 games for Somerset and was promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Triple-A International League on September 2.

Major leagues

2023

In 2023, the Yankees invited Volpe to spring training as a non-roster player, where he competed with Oswald Peraza for the starting shortstop role. On March 26, 2023, the Yankees announced Volpe had earned a spot on the team's Opening Day roster as the starting shortstop.

Volpe recorded his first major league hit in the second game of the season on April 1. On April 14, Volpe hit his first major league home run. On May 10, 2023, Volpe hit his first career grand slam. He became the Yankees' first rookie shortstop to hit a grand slam. On May 13, Volpe set a record as the first player in Yankees history to steal his first 13 career bases without being caught. On May 23, Volpe had his first walk-off plate appearance when he hit a sac fly to drive in the winning run against the Baltimore Orioles.

Volpe became the 15th MLB rookie to record both 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. However, his .283 on-base percentage was the worst among qualified MLB players and his strikeout rate was 13th worst in the league. He finished his rookie season with a .209/.283/.383 slash line, 21 home runs, 60 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, and 23 doubles. He won the AL Gold Glove Award at shortstop, becoming the first Yankee rookie to win the award.

2024

Volpe worked to improve his offense in the offseason, leveling his swing to improve his bat control in the upper part of the zone. He quickly improved his offensive profile to start the 2024 season, cutting his strikeout rate in half while increasing his walk rate and on-base percentage. On April 1, 2024, he recorded his first four-hit game. In May, he recorded a 21-game hitting streak, the longest by a Yankees player in over a decade. The streak cemented his role as the team's regular lead-off hitter.

See also

• All-Star Futures Game all-time roster

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)