Boone thinks Volpe could work his way to the top, but not yet
With a .417 average, Anthony Volpe found himself tied for the major league lead entering Tuesday’s game against the Marlins. Naturally, some have started to wonder whether the Yankees should make the speedy shortstop their leadoff man.
“There may be a day when he becomes a natural fit up there,” Aaron Boone said a day after Volpe drilled a three-run homer in a win over Miami. “So that’s always in there. I do feel like when we look up in 10 years, that’s where his future is going to be, at the top of the lineup. That’s who he is.”
However, Boone said that he’s not “in a real hurry” to hit Volpe first on a regular basis. That could happen from time to time if Volpe stays hot — “We’ll be a little bit fluid,” Boone said — but Gleyber Torres has been handling leadoff duties with DJ LeMahieu recovering from a non-displaced fracture in his right foot.
Torres has gotten off to a slow start, slashing .222/.308/.267 over his first 11 games despite hitting in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. However, the Yankees have been winning — their 9-2 record matched the franchise’s best 11-game start — and Boone has been happy with the balance Torres has struck between aggression and seeing pitches.
“I feel like Gleyber’s putting together really competitive, strong at-bats,” the manager said. “That’s what it’s about. I mean, you get caught up in the ebb and flow, especially at the start of the year when it’s all you have to go on. But with Gleyber, I’m not worried about him at all offensively. If he’s putting that level of at-bats together, results will be there over time.
“Even though he hasn’t gotten a ton of traction yet result-wise, I do feel like he’s setting a really good tone in that leadoff spot. He’s not looking to be passive up there. He’s going up, he’s swung at some first pitches at times. But game in and game out, I feel like he’s been part of that group that’s making it difficult on the opponent.”
Entering Tuesday, no Yankee had seen more pitches than the 221 thrown to Torres. The fact that Torres has been hitting first has something to do with that, but Soto was the only Yankees regular with a lower chase rate. Torres had also swung at the first pitch 34.6% of the time, so he’s still looking to jump on opponents, as Boone noted.
Volpe, meanwhile, seems comfortable hitting sixth and seventh. He woke up with a 1.154 OPS on Tuesday, in addition to three doubles, two homers, six RBI and three stolen bases.
Keep in mind, this is a player who hit .209 with a .283 OBP despite joining the 20-20 club as a rookie.
“Last year was frustrating because I felt like I could be doing more to help the team out and help the team win,” Volpe said over the weekend. “So when everything’s going good and you feel like you’re helping out, it feels a lot better.”
Volpe spent the offseason refining his bat path, which has led to better contact and swing decisions. He was still chasing 21.9% of the time, but that’s a lot better than the 28.7% clip he logged last year.
Volpe was also making contact 73.9% of the time when chasing entering Tuesday. That number was 49.9% in 2023.
This year, the 22-year-old said that he’s been able to get to more pitches that he couldn’t last year. It’s certainly shown so far, in and out of the strike zone.
“He’s just more equipped to handle different pitches in the strike zone, so it leads to better decisions,” Boone said. “You’re in better position to make quality decisions, so he’s putting together great at-bats.”
COLE COMES THROUGH
Gerrit Cole (elbow inflammation) didn’t report any issues Tuesday after playing catch on Monday, according to Boone. The righty was not scheduled to throw again Tuesday, though he’s expected to do so two more times this week.
Cole is on the 60-day injured list and can’t return until at least May 27.
MACHINE MOVEMENT
In addition to running, LeMahieu has started to do some side-to-side fielding, which had troubled him earlier in is build-up process.
“He’s moving in a pretty good direction,” Boone said.