Anthony Volpe took his lumps as a rookie for the New York Yankees in 2023. But, by the time the season ended, he finished eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting and became the first Yankees rookie to win a Gold Glove.
Now comes the sophomore campaign. MLB.com believes Volpe is in line for an uptick in one overlooked area of his game last season.
The site recently produced a piece about “10 players who should run more in 2024,” spotlighting 10 players the site believes should boost their production on the basepaths.
Volpe made the list. If you weren’t paying attention, Volpe proved to be a quality threat on the bases in 2023.
Most fans paid attention to the batting numbers, and he certainly had some rookie struggles, with a slash line of .209/.283/.383/.666. He did add some power with 21 home runs and 60 RBI. Plus, he stole 24 bases and was caught just five times.
That’s right — Volpe was a 20/20 player last season. It was a breakthrough of sorts. No Yankees rookie had ever done it.
Volpe is a threat. MLB.com makes the case that it’s time to further unleash him in 2024.
He doesn’t have want one would call elite speed. MLB timed him at 28.3 feet per second. For perspective, the top player on the site’s list, Philadelphia’s Trea Turner, was timed at an average of more than 30 feet per second.
But Volpe makes up for it with smarts. He was an 83 percent base-stealer last season. In the minors Volpe stole 50 bases in 2022 but was only caught seven times.
Naturally, Volpe had to get comfortable being an everyday Major League player. With that behind him, it’s definitely possible he could exceed last year’s totals and become an even bigger threat to steal for the Yankees.
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