Move Over Ikf, Anthony Volpe Is Stealing Your Thunder!

Spring training just started, so it’s REALLY early but Anthony Volpe is already WOWING everyone. He is shining at the right time which may be bad news for Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Opportunity has knocked loudly for Volpe, and he didn’t hesitate to answer and rise to the challenge. He didn’t just have a good first game against the Blue Jays, “he was showing off” according to Josh Donaldson, read more HERE.

Volpe led off and played five innings at shortstop and was two for four on the day with a second-inning hustling double to right, and a fourth-inning single to left that was followed two steals. He also handled two ground balls at shortstop making them look easy. The more I watch him at short, the more I forget that IKF plays the same position. 

I’m not going to lie, I am more excited about the young kids coming up that IKF just gets lost in the background for me. He was meant to be a stop gap, and maybe this year he is a bench guy. No offense to IKF, but Volpe is the number one prospect and important face of the future, even if it isn’t at shortstop he is looking pretty good there right now.

I’ve been excited about Volpe for a while now. Even if he moves to second base in the future (which I think will happen) the more I read about him the more I want to see him play in the Bronx. “It’s easy to focus on the results, but just the way he went about it,” Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza said, “the hustle, the intensity, the focus… First at-bat, first pitch, ready to go, line drive right at the shortstop. Second at-bat, single but out of the box he’s thinking two and sure enough he got to second base. Again, the way he went about it and the way he played the game, that’s what I loved.” That’s what we will all love to watch.

Sunday was a day of firsts for Volpe, who is in his first big-league spring training: first spring-training start, first hit, first two-hit game, first two stolen bases. Hopefully we get to see many more first to come….and hopefully sooner rather than later.