So, this is a tough one to write, that is even harder as I do this in November, when nothing’s been finalized about next year’s rosters. Anthony Volpe could break camp with the Yankees or he could be called up late in the year like the Oswald/o’s. Yankees desperately need to look back at what they did in the mid-90s, and turn the page on signing all these vets, who kinda suck. Israel Diner-Falafel was a terrible signing at the time and it never got better, but this is what the Yankees have done for almost 25 years now. There’s someone reading this who wasn’t even alive for when the Yankees used to promote prospects. Me, being 17 years old, I don’t know any of this. I blew dust off Wikipedia to read about it. That’s right, I started Razzball when I was 5 years old. I was the Doogie Howser of fantasy baseball ‘perts. I don’t even get the Doogie Howser reference that I just made. I’m too young. Was he related to Dick Howser? Dot dot dot. Who I also don’t know — again –> too young. When the Yanks had the Core Four just coming up, I was actually a Yankees fan. Fantasy baseball and moving away from Jersey deadened most of my Yankees fandom, and sanded-down the sharp edges of the rest, but there was one point when the Yankees didn’t just go out and sign every $200 million free agent. That’s why I don’t know how accurate this Anthony Volpe 2023 fantasy rookie post can be about his playing time. I could see the Yankees go to Anthony Volpe in April or sign Carlos Correa for a two-year deal and talk about teaching Volpe to play 2nd. Anything’s on the table. So, what can we expect from Anthony Volpe for 2023 fantasy baseball?
If a guy might not be up until September, what are we doing here? Guess we can watch Anthony Volpe in a few select Yanks clips (Clips? They’re the RailRiders now!):
Anthony Volpe shows what 55-grade speed looks like ?
The top @Yankees prospect swipes third and scampers home on a throwing error — his fifth steal for the @swbrailriders and 49th of the year. pic.twitter.com/MLfQzS522h
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 26, 2022
Meh, so Anthony Volpe is fast. A lot of guys are fast.
Day after being named the Yankees number 1 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) Anthony Volpe walks it off for the HV Renegades pic.twitter.com/zmabyxhorx
— The Short Porch (@short_porch) August 20, 2021
Oh, daddy’s got some power, huh? Well, pull power is just so whatever, especially when Yankee Stadium’s short porch is on the other side–
Anthony Volpe’s first Triple-A home run! He’s been on fire since joining the RailRiders pic.twitter.com/MXiwT43qcu
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 8, 2022
Gotcha, so he doesn’t need to pull the ball. Heard. Loud and clear. Because it’s the Yankees, Anthony Volpe has the hype and a ton of video. He was the first guy who I searched for videos of, and there was multiple possibilities for each attribute. Speed, power and fielding were all on display. Volpe is also from Jersey and has a chance to be the face of the franchise. He’s a high makeup kid that can be a star. That doesn’t mean much for us, except it guarantees he’s going to be overrated from Day 1. Doesn’t hurt that he could be a 20/30/.270 guy from the jump. At 21 years of age, I just don’t see the Yankees going to him on Opening Day, unless he comes in with the lead for the job and absolutely wins it. The problem is if he’s not given the chance in spring to win the job, do the Yankees sign a one-year free agent again? It’s so hard to say, which takes us back to the opening. Could give Volpe anywhere from 550 ABs to 100. Could even see the Yankees saying they’re doing the Israel Diner thing for another year, then letting him play every day for a month until he becomes a utility guy, letting Volpe come up. So many scenarios are possible here! For 2023, I’ll give Anthony Volpe projections of 39/9/36/.254/14 in 302 ABs with a chance for much more or less.
