Anthony Volpe of the Yankees has been good this postseason… though

Thanks to his great start to the season, all eyes were on Anthony Volpe with undeniable affection. The first few weeks of game action in 2024 suggested that Volpe would be taking the next step in his development. His focus on small ball and team-oriented offense catapulted him to instant fan favorite status. Everything went smoothly.

Then, seemingly from nowhere, Volpe plummeted into nothingness, becoming stone-cold for months while showing only brief periods of promise. His wRC+ increased from 82 to 86 year-over-year, but his OPS actually decreased from .666 to .657. His concerted effort to sling the ball down the field at lower launch angles undoubtedly allowed him more contact (33rd percentile whiff rate in 2023 vs. 62nd percentile in 2024), but it came at the expense of his bat speed, hard hit, and barrel rates. Oddly enough, he also tracked more outside the zone and was almost two percentage points below the league average. According to Baseball Savant's Batting Run Value metric, Volpe ranked in the 18th percentile of hitters at -10. No matter how you sliced ​​the pizza, the cheese looked stale, the crust was way too burnt, the oil dripped for days, and the pepperoni smelled funny. Where was the chicken parmesan when he needed it?

Given its lackluster regular season, it was logical that postseason expectations were minimal. Interestingly, though, Volpe was arguably the Yankees' third-best hitter heading into the World Series behind Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto (Gleyber Torres might like a word). His .310/.459/.345 slash line over 37 plate appearances – or .804 OPS – ranks fourth if you ignore Anthony Rizzo's even smaller sample size of 16 PAs. That .459 on-base percentage ranks first for the Yankees, and he did it while reaching base in every playoff game: Volpe was quite good in the playoffs.

Now we have to ask ourselves: Has Anthony Volpe figured it out?

The short answer is: not really, but kind of. This answer probably confuses you, but Volpe still shows little ability to hit the ball with any regularity. What looked better is his swing Intention and the competitiveness of his hitters.

Swing intent isn't often talked about, but it's arguably just as important as bat speed. In layman's terms, swing intent describes the decision to either swing for the fences or “shorten.” Volpe has made great strides in this area, as he began the year drastically and consistently reducing his bat speed in an attempt to make more contact – often to his detriment. When that clearly wasn't working, he switched from no swing at all to heavy swing in certain situations – particularly on throws in his nitro zone. MLB.com's Mike Petriello picked up on this earlier this year, so I'll refer you to his article for supplemental reading, but it appears Volpe has a better understanding of when to block throws (swing softer) or swing for the fences and pull the ball (swing harder).

His competitive at-bats are tied to his ability to block throws out of the zone, something he can no longer do this season. His 29.3 percent pursuit rate in 2024 was almost a full percentage point below league average and made it easier for him to get out most of the season. With small sample sizes like the one we enjoy in the postseason, it's hard to say they're stable, as this could be a period where he's just seeing the ball well. However, there were some Pretty Breaker from the Guardians pitchers Volpe spit on: There were some world-class shots in both series. Still, I don't have a great sense of whether his swing decisions are as persistent and clear as his swing intent.

Despite his increased bat speed, his average bat speed is in the 15th percentile among hitters. He does a good job of maximizing his power when he intentionally hits hard, but from a power perspective we probably saw Volpe's peak last year. If swing intent and chase are real changes he's made that last beyond this season – something I'm still skeptical of – then there's a chance he'll develop into a slightly above-average hitter , who wins more with his batting average and on-base prowess than slugging percentage. However, considering his elite defensive and baserunning stats, this is one heck of a player the Yankees have drafted.