Anthony Volpe's Hot Starts Aren't New, but Can He Finish Strong?

When Anthony Volpe came to the plate for the Yankees in the ninth inning with one out and runners on second and third on Monday, it was easy for any spectator watching to feel a bit jaded by the potential outcome. They were down one, and it looked like Bobby Witt Jr. was going to be the hero of the day after his eight-inning home run put the Royals ahead in the first game of the series.

What was most unfortunate for the Royals was that a shortstop was the hero, just not the one who's an MVP candidate hailing from Kauffman Stadium. It was Volpe who slapped a single to left field, driving both runners in and giving the Yankees the lead for good.

VOLPE COMES THROUGH pic.twitter.com/XHSyVRzWfe
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 25, 2026

The road trip was a solid one for Volpe. The next day, he homered, and he came out of the series hitting .257/.409/.429 with a 145 wRC+ and a 0.6 WAR, according to FanGraphs. It's a small sample size of 44 plate appearances, but what Volpe needed to do was start hot to keep getting penciled into the lineup, and he's doing exactly that.

Give him credit for doing what was needed for him to keep getting playing time. Volpe is one reason the Yankees have pulled within 1.5 games of first place against a Tampa Bay Rays team that looked poised to run away with the American League East.

Whether he can keep it up is a different story altogether.

Anthony Volpe's history of hot starts

Volpe has had hot starts before, most notably in 2024. That year, Volpe hit .282/.352/432 with a 126 wRC+ in his first 264 plate appearances. He hit .221/.256/.325 with a 63 wRC+ the rest of the way. He did have a stellar postseason, though, and capped it off with a World Series grand slam.

Anthony Volpe, grand slam. This is the big hit the Yankees have been looking for all series. pic.twitter.com/dMH44RBMQl
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 30, 2024

2025 was another year in which Volpe started off hitting pretty well. It wasn't as prolific as 2024, but it was still an upgrade from how he had finished the season before. Volpe hit .239/.319/.429 with a 108 wRC+ in his first 235 plate appearances. His falloff was even more stunning than the one the year before. He hit .195/.240/.368 with a 66 wRC+.

That shoulder could be used as a reason why Volpe fell off last season, but he didn't always have that issue. In 2024, he was perfectly healthy, and the same thing happened.

If there was ever a year for Volpe to truly prove himself and show that the shortcomings are behind him, it's now or never. The Yankees have already shown their faith in José Caballero this season and are willing to give him the job if they feel their former top shortstop prospect falls off. Volpe won't receive the grace that he had in past years.

At this point, Volpe won't be the second coming of Witt Jr.—though never say never in this sport—but if he can manage to be at least league average with stellar defensive metrics by Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved, consider that a success. He can't match the offensive production of a National League starting pitcher before the designated hitter was implemented. Volpe won't have a place on the Yankees if that happens again.

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