Anthony Volpe has yet to make the big-league club, much less play a game.
And yet ESPN is already to say he has the best chance of any player in the Yankees organization to be among the top-100 players in baseball over the next three years.
The hype rolls on!
The buzz around Volpe from spring training surely leads to this conclusion, particularly with the incessant Derek Jeter comparisons. Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton and Harrison Bader have probably already seen their career years, so Volpe is the heavy favorite with Jasson Dominguez lingering if Volpe doesn’t immediately leap into perennial All-Star territory.
The Bombers have four players on ESPN’s current list: Aaron Judge is No. 3, Gerrit Cole is No. 19, Carlos Rodon is No. 34 and Nestor Cortes is No. 75. Plus a few others — Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, et cetera — who should be in the conversation.
MORE: What number will Anthony Volpe wear in big leagues?
Volpe has done everything he can to win a roster spot and the Opening Day start at shortstop. Now all that is left to do is wait to see if the Yankees give him the call, or send him to Triple-A for a bit more seasoning. It seems like it could go either way. But Mike Francesa has made his call.
“He’s trying to make a real case. And he’s already made it,” Francesa said on his latest BetRivers podcast. “I think he will open the season with the Yankees. And here’s the bottom line: If you’re bringing Volpe north, you start him at shortstop and you play him every day. You don’t put him on the bench.
“If Volpe’s here — and I think he will be, and if he’s not he’s going to be back in two weeks — he’s playing every day.”
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
