KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jim Hendry was one of the scouts who helped Anthony Volpe go from Delbarton High School to the Yankees.
The longtime executive had watched Volpe in high school and was confident the shortstop could perform not only during the regular season, but when it mattered most.
“He just had it,” Hendry, a special assistant to GM Brian Cashman, said this week at Yankee Stadium. “I knew this moment wasn't that big for him.”
The 23-year-old lifelong Yankees fan is getting his first chance in the postseason against the Royals in the ALDS, and with the Yankees splitting the opening two games heading into Game 3 at Kauffman Stadium, Hendry's There are signs that the assessment was correct.
After two consecutive shaky regular seasons, Volpe hit mostly well at the plate in the first two games of the series against Kansas City, but made a painful throwing error in Game 1 that led to two runs. It led to Other than that, it is short and stable.
Asked what he saw in Volpe as a high school player that convinced him he would succeed in October's first round, Hendry said, “He's a mature kid in the way he carries himself and the way he plays.” Ta.
The Yankees had high enough hopes for Volpe to make him their shortstop in the Bronx in early 2023, but his bat hasn't produced as much as many expected.
This season, he sacrificed a bit of power in exchange for more contact, but that left him with extra minutes with little benefit of either.
In previous games against Kansas City, Volpe has hit several hard-hitting balls, including a 160 mph reverse shot into the warning track on the right side of the stadium and a good hit to right field in his second at-bat in Game 1. are.
Volpe followed with a walk with the bases loaded.
He got his first hit of the series in the second inning on Monday, a hard single to left, followed by a walk and a hard hit to shortstop.
He hit three balls over 100 mph in the past two games, and on Monday he hit two balls over 105 mph.
Those numbers are why the Yankees believe Volpe has so much more to offer at the plate.
And Hendry remains confident that Volpe can produce work at the highest level.
Even before the Yankees drafted Volpe, Hendry likened Volpe to Alex Bregman, who he watched at LSU before becoming an Astro.
However, Bregman hit the ground running in Houston, where he was called up mid-season in July 2016 and excelled almost immediately.
Bregman had a rocky postseason in 2017 and emerged as a superstar in 2018.
It's unclear whether Volpe will ultimately follow a similar path.
The Yankees note that he is still a young and inexperienced player, but his long slump after pitchers adjusted to the changes he made has led some scouts to believe Volpe could live up to expectations. I have doubts.
Depending on what he does in the rest of this series, the picture will become a little clearer.
