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Anthony Volpe has displayed some power during his young MLB career.
So far this season, though, that’s all he’s shown.
Volpe has four hits through the Yankees’ first five games, each of them homers.
The most recent one came in dramatic fashion, as his three-run, opposite-field shot to right with one out in the bottom of the ninth finally got the Yankees on the board, though it wasn’t enough to get them a win, as they fell 4-3 to Arizona on a cold night in The Bronx.
“I put the ball in play and play hard,” Volpe said after the game. “They’re just going over the fence, which is nice. I want to help the team out.”
He’s been a significant part of the Yankees’ early home run barrage, as they continued their record-setting streak with Volpe’s blast.
They have 19 homers in their first five games, a major league record, and Volpe is the sixth player — and first shortstop — in franchise history to hit four homers in the team’s first five games.
A year ago, Volpe’s fourth home run didn’t come until his 36th game of the season.
“I think he’s gonna be a good hitter,” Aaron Boone said. “We’ve started to see that, and I felt the playoffs was kind of a coming out party for him, and he carried that work into the offseason, honing his swing. He’s capable of that. Whether that shows up in a ton of power, I don’t know. I just want him to be a good hitter and I think he’s moving towards that.”
And all this comes with Volpe being one of the Yankees to use the torpedo bat, which may have played a role in the Yankees’ record-setting power surge, though at least some of it was likely playing against Milwaukee.
Facing Arizona pitching the previous two nights, the Yankees offense looks considerably less fearsome.
Still, Volpe’s power isn’t letting up.
He has eight RBIs, and he and Aaron Judge are just the second pair of teammates to hit four homers in their first five games — along with Colorado’s Andrés Galarraga and Dante Bichette, who did it in 1994.
As for the fact Volpe has nothing but homers, Boone said, “I can think of three balls he’s hit on the screws for outs. It’s just early in the season. You square them up, you might as well drive them out.”
