By Andy Singer
December 18th, 2023
Anthony Volpe was a player for whom most Yankee fans were very excited coming into the 2023 season. There were countless comparisons of Anthony Volpe to the last great Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter. Following a big Spring Training, many assumed that Volpe's 2023 season and career would begin much in the storybook fashion that Jeter's did so many years ago. While Volpe's defense proved to be better than many expected, which helped pull up various assessments of his on-field value, his offensive performance left much to be desired, save for some flashes in June/July and August. Despite finishing as the first Yankee rookie to eclipse both 20 HR and 20 SB in his rookie season, Volpe finished with just an 81 OPS+ in 601 plate appearances in his rookie season. Even more worrisome, Volpe batted just .209 and got on-base at just a .283 clip, well beneath both expectations and, frankly, acceptability.
Even Volpe's detractors would admit that Volpe has enough talent to succeed at the plate in the Majors, so I don't think we need to discuss whether or not the skillset exists for Volpe to thrive long-term at the plate. That leaves us with the following question: what does Anthony Volpe need to change to make his sophomore season with the Yankees a success at the plate?
Many following the tabloids since last season will immediately point to the Yankees' general all-or-nothing approach at the plate as the sole issue plaguing players like Volpe. While I won't say that Volpe's approach couldn't use tweaking, I think there were clearer culprits for his struggles at the plate in 2023. Much was made about the infamous "chicken parm game," where Volpe went on a hot streak after fellow Yankee prospect and friend, Austin Wells, helped Volpe review video from Volpe's minor league successes to find mechanical tweaks while eating homemade chicken parm at Volpe's parents' house. Many have claimed that despite the hot streak, Volpe still was a below-average hitter in 2023, proving that the "chicken parm" story has been an overblown media spectacle. There again, the reality isn't as resolute.
Here are Volpe's offensive stats before the chicken parm game: 250 PA, .186/.260/.345, .605 OPS, 9 HR, 8.8% BB%, 30.8% K%
Here are Volpe's offensive stats after the chicken parm game: 351 PA, .225/.300/.410, .710 OPS, 12 HR, 8.5% BB%, 25.6% K%
Volpe went from being one of the worst regulars in baseball offensively to being a guy who approached average performance at the plate from June 14th on. He made significantly more contact, showed a bit more pop, and he cut his strikeout rate to a rate just above the league average while maintaining his solid walk rate. Yes, his performance was terribly streaky, relying on 3 hot weeks in June/July and a red hot August to achieve even the modestly better numbers above, but it still represents improvement overall. While it's hard to say if Volpe made significant changes to his approach through the end of last season, we do know that Volpe made significant mechanical changes from June 14th on. That indicates to me that the key to unlocking Volpe's best performance at the plate is mechanics, and that's something we can evaluate on our own.
Part of Volpe's allure was his tantalizing performance down on the farm in 2021 and 2022. Volpe was one of the best hitting shortstops in the minor leagues over those two seasons, and hit helped launch his prospect status from outside the Top-100 in baseball, to one of the 10-15 best prospects in the league. Clearly, the mechanics Volpe was using in the upper minors worked, and they remained relatively unchanged between AA and AAA in 2022.
Given that fact, I want to start by looking at a couple of representative still shots from one of Volpe's late-season at-bats in 2022. Let's start with Volpe at set-up:
Quite simply, Volpe looks athletic in the box. His knees are flexed, his stance is reasonably closed, his feet are a bit less than shoulder width apart, his spine is in a mostly upright position, his left arm is extended, with his left elbow already cocked behind his left shoulder, and the bat is already set along a reasonably flat plane. In short, Volpe looks mechanically well prepared to load and coil his body as the pitch is delivered.
Here's what the load of this swing looked like:
Volpe looks explosive as the pitch is delivered. A big stride and leg kick further closes off Volpe's body to the pitcher as he sits hard on his back leg; he is fully coiled before the ball is halfway to the plate; most importantly, Volpe's shoulder line, upper left arm line, and bat angle are all sitting at nearly identical angles as he loads. Volpe's body is in perfect position to not just make contact with the pitch, but impact the baseball. Most critically, he is ready well in advance of needing to swing, giving him more time to both recognize the pitch and time it as it hurdles towards the plate.
At the end of 2022, Volpe's set-up and load were perfectly suited to good offensive performance.
Now, let's look at Volpe's set-up in 2023 prior to the chicken parm game:
Here we can see an immediate difference in Volpe's set-up. He is much less closed to the pitcher than he was in 2022, and he is much more upright and stiff. The bat has drifted from a ready position to dipping just below parallel to the ground, which would give Volpe more work to get the bat into a hitting position (more on this in a minute). His feet also appear narrower. Volpe looks less athletic and less ready to hit in his set-up at the beginning of 2023.
Here's what he looks like as he loads in the same at-bat:
Volpe's load at the beginning of 2023 couldn't be more different than it was in 2022. Volpe forces his body more closed as the pitch approaches, though his stride remains very narrow. Volpe's left arm dips significantly, forcing his bat into an upright position as it loads, at odds with the natural angle his shoulders create as he loads. The bat will necessarily have a longer path to the strike zone, and the ball is already roughly halfway to the plate. Volpe's timing and mechanics are terribly out of sync, and he was right to recognize that significant change was needed. Based on the above, I find it hard to believe anyone but the most gifted hitters could hit MLB pitching effectively with the above mechanics.
Volpe recognized the need for change, and showed good instincts by looking back at what made him successful in the minors. Here's what he looked like after the chicken parm game:
Once again, we see that Volpe has really pre-set a closed position to the pitcher as he sets up in his batting stance. His knees are in an athletic position, seemingly tensed and ready to spring. Again, Volpe's left arm is extended and cocked slightly behind his left shoulder, with the bat pre-set on-plane. His body looks less relaxed than it did at the end of 2022, but he is certainly in a better position to load than he was at the beginning of 2023.
Here's what Volpe's load looked like at the end of 2023:
Volpe is once again coiled nicely, like he was in 2022. Volpe's stride is mostly gone, as his legs were much further apart at set-up than at any other time between 2022 and early 2023. Volpe's leg kick is also shorter than at the end of 2022, though he coils significantly more, both in his upper and lower body. This isn't a bad thing, as Volpe's weight is properly shifted again, and his head is easily capable of seeing the approaching pitch. However, what we can also clearly see is that Volpe's left elbow again drops despite the coil, bringing the bat up higher. It is not as bad as it was at the beginning of 2023, but the bat is still significantly higher at load than it was in 2022, which again creates a longer bat path. Volpe's load at the end of 2023 is powerful, and more in-sync than at the beginning of 2023, but not as in-sync as 2022.
As we approach the 2024 season, I think Volpe has more mechanical adjustments ahead. The good news is that the mechanical adjustments needed involve getting him back to swing and load elements that were present in 2022. Namely, Volpe needs to get his left elbow up as he loads his swing, which will allow the bat to naturally drop into the slot that matches his shoulder angle. This will help Volpe make more frequent authoritative contact in 2024, and help him reach the offensive potential he showed as a prospect. If coaches and Volpe himself can make these changes in 2024, Volpe will make strides far greater even than the chicken parm game.
