Yankees Are Home-growing The Shortstop Of Their Future

As Derek Jeter welcomed the birth of his third daughter, River Rose Jeter on December 2nd, it is almost difficult to remember the Hall of Famer in the other position that made him famous. Jeter had 20 seasons with the Yankees and his accolades are too much to list for this post. We all appreciated his hard work and determination. The Yankees home cooked their shortstop and even though when he ran onto the field for the first time, he was not the best, by the time he left two decades later, he left his mark on the game that made him famous. What if I told you we could do this again? I mean what if I told you that the next greatest shortstop for the New York Yankees was right within their organization already?

“General manager Brian Cashman has pointed to shortstop as an unsettled area of need this offseason. While the club engaged the free-agent and trade markets, the 20-year-old Anthony Volpe‘s rising status is part of the equation when considering future moves. MLB Pipeline rated Volpe as the No. 15 prospect in all of baseball,” reported MLB’s Bryan Hoch.

The guy has been a slow riser, having what Brian Cashman called an impressive season with the the Tampa Yankees and the Hudson Valley Renegades combined. The 2019 first round draft pick has been turning heads and he has the attention of Cashman who may decide to forgo the money and instead put resources into grooming Volpe for the Yankees’ future.

“You have some guys that are on the come that you have to think highly of,” Cashman said. “That means you either make plans for them to hopefully arrive here and impact you, or ultimately I guess sometimes they can be trade pieces. But you always like to hold on to the best of the best if you can. When you have the ability to play shortstop, it’s usually the most athletic person on the field,” reported Hoch.

According to CBS Sports, “Volpe is the prime example of a prospect whose development caught everyone by surprise because it happened behind closed doors. The strength he added during the 2020 shutdown filled in the missing pieces of a profile characterized by instincts and work ethic, and the result was a player with so few flaws that he may push for a promotion by his 21st birthday.” Sounds like Jeter material if I ever heard a scouting report? And the kid is humble and willing to work hard to add value to his team, without letting his rise go to his head.

“I’m working really hard to get ready and be in the best shape, best mental, everything for Spring Training,” Volpe said. “I think I’d be doing my trainers and my teammates that I’m working out with a disservice if I was reading into stuff like that,” reported Hoch.

So are the Yankees selling themselves short by investing in a kid to play shortstop? No. If history repeats itself, they are doing themselves a favor. Home-growing the shortstop of the future? Sure why not. Let’s see if they really pledge the resources to do this right and we just might see Anthony Volpe in pinstripes in the Bronx this spring. 

–Suzie Pinstripe