SSTN Mailbag: 2B, Wells, and AZFL!

It hasn't always been as pretty as we'd like it to be, but the Yankees are largely taking care of business. They continue to win series and hopeless as the effort may have seemed a month ago, they are closing the gap with the Rays, who refuse to slow down. The Yankees stand at 3 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. They have a real chance at winning the division. What more can we ask for as Yankee fans?

Coming into the season, I thought this was a very good roster in a weak American League. I also thought that the AL East would be by far the strongest division in the AL. Both of those suppositions turned out to be correct. Winning the AL East gives the Yankees a huge advantage in the playoffs between home field advantage and a Wild Card round bye. That is unless the Yankees continue to be a better road team than they are at home, of course.

I have really enjoyed watching baseball lately, and the Yankees in particular. The offense is finding ways to score runs in a multitude of ways, with athletic players and timely hitting. The Yankees have power, speed, and a starting pitching staff that I believe is the best I've seen in pinstripes in my lifetime. The bullpen is thin, but reinforcements are just around the corner. In short, I feel really good about the Yankees making a run here in September and October. That's even more true if Judge comes back at even 80%. I think we're in for a fun month.

As always, thanks for the great questions and keep them coming to SSTNReadermail@gmail.com. In this week's SSTN Mailbag, we'll talk about 2B and Anthony Volpe next season, Austin Wells, and the Arizona Fall League! Let's get at it:

Fuster asks: and if they sign Chisholm, do they then market Volpe?

would any West Coast NL team have interest in Anthony sufficient to move a team to offer a prospect suited to centerfield?

I think a ton is going to depend on what the economics of baseball look like coming out of the next CBA. I am likely in the minority, but based on the starting proposals that have been leaked to the public (all of which is just a PR stunt and negotiating tactic as opposed to real proposals), I do not expect the owners to get a salary cap, as they very clearly desire. With that as a guiding principle, I still think there is going to be enough penalty for wild spending that purse strings will be a bit tighter moving forward for teams like the Yankees, whether artificial or due to real rules.

That said, as I noted last week, I think Jazz has played his way to the point where a 1-year pillow contract makes sense for him and the Yankees. He'll have a short leash, but he's so incredibly talented that the upside makes it a smart deal, particularly since the risk is that he plays like he has in the aggregate this season, which is still roughly average production from a 2B.

That puts Volpe and the Yankees in a very, very interesting spot. Volpe has taken his demotion well, and is performing like he's playing for his career down in AAA. He has made some adjustments that have put his swing in a slot that more closely resembles what he did as a prospect, which is what made him exciting. Contrary to popular belief, Volpe never had the hit tool to be a slash-and-dash, contact-oriented shortstop. Before he started lifting the ball, he was a non-prospect; in fact, 1 year after he was drafted in the 1st round, I did not rank him among my top-15 prospects in the Yankee system. After his first year in the Majors, he abandoned the mechanics and the approach that got him to the big leagues in trying to be a singles and doubles shortstop. It just doesn't match what Volpe does well when he's at his best.

Since going down to AAA, for the first time in a very long time, I'm seeing flashes of the guy that proved me wrong on his climb through the minor leagues. He's hitting the ball hard; he's lifting the ball with authority from multiple locations in the strike zone; he's showing power to all fields, and his whiff rate has come down. He's also looked adept at 2B and surprisingly passable at 3B, converting outs on all 3 of his chances, including a double-play. I know that many Yankee fans are totally done with the Volpe experiment, but progression isn't always linear, and to be fair to Volpe, he was coming off of major shoulder surgery coming into this season. It may just have taken time for the shoulder to come around.

Given his positional versatility, I'm not sure it makes sense to deal Volpe right now, as his value is relatively low. I don't expect Volpe to return a starting caliber CF this offseason. If you gave the Yankees truth serum, I don't think they want to go into next season with McMahon at 3B. I can't help but wonder if Volpe fulfills the Amed Rosario role next season, with an eye towards pushing for more.

Volpe has enough talent that I'd give him that shot. I think he'd be a plus-plus defender at 2B or a very good defender at 3B despite the weak arm (remember, IKF has remained a Gold Glove caliber 3B even with a similar arm to Volpe's). I think the kid deserves one more shot with a healthy offseason.

Scott I. asks: How would you handle Austin Wells and the catcher position heading into next year? The Yankees wanted to upgrade at the deadline, so will they look to do so again this offseason?

I certainly expect them to be on the hunt for a better right-handed catcher than Ali Sanchez, who doesn't belong in the big leagues on either side of the ball. I know that Wells has become a significant target among fans, but I think the numbers are showing something very different. Since July 8th, Wells has an .814 OPS. In his last 125 plate appearances, he has 6 home runs, a .349 wOBA and underlying numbers that mostly support that metric. With his defense, that level of offense combined with everything Wells does defensively behind the plate and in managing a pitching staff makes him one of the best catchers in baseball over that timespan. Frankly, in terms of talent, that's what I expected of Wells coming into this season. As I've stated multiple times, I can't help but think that Wells was battling injuries through much of the first half of the season.

It's all coming together at the right time for Austin Wells. He's an imperfect offensive player, but the offensive bar at catcher is low enough that performance like what I noted above is all-world. The Yankees need a better catcher to platoon with Wells against tough lefties and to hedge against injuries and underperformance, but I still believe Wells is the Yankees' best option this season and next season.

Alan B. asks: Andy, with the AFL rosters to be announced in the next week or so, I have five guys I'm sending, 3 pitchers and 2 position players, but my question is, my 6th guy is C/1B David McCann.. Agree it disagree ? Oh, my five are: Roderick Arias, Wilson Rodriguez, Pico Kohn, Chase Hampton, and Trent Sellers (strictly as a reliever). I'm not sending Pena or De Pena, not sending Kilby, had hamstring issues, I'm not chancing it when guys plays every other day, and not sending Eric Genther, let them work on his catching in Instructs and at the complex.

I like your list. Hampton needs to get some innings, as does Kohn, and I'd like to see Sellers against premium talent in a hitters' environment. Arias has clearly earned a spot, as has Rodriguez, though I think I'd rather see Lovich in the AzFL playing just CF. I wouldn't send McCann, as I he hasn't done much to prove he's a real prospect yet. I'd send Jace Avina, who has been fantastic all year. Avina is likely trade bait, so it behooves the Yankees to show his talent at a showcase like the Arizona Fall League, so he'd be my 6th player.