THE GREAT VOLPE MISREAD

There comes a point when we have to stop talking about Anthony Volpe as if the breakout is always right around the corner.

Maybe this is simply who he is. And maybe the bigger question isn't Anthony Volpe anymore. Maybe it's how the Yankees evaluated him in the first place. Let's get the current numbers straight, because Volpe deserves that much.

Since being demoted again in August, Volpe hasn't been completely helpless at Scranton. In fact, he put together a seven-game hitting streak through August 14, including a 408-foot home run. Then he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout on August 15.

Fine. But can we please stop acting like getting some hits against Triple-A pitching is proof that the Anthony Volpe experiment is suddenly working? He's 25 years old. He's been a major leaguer since 2023. This isn't some 20-year-old prospect getting his first taste of Triple-A. Volpe is down there because after years of being handed the Yankees shortstop job, he still hasn't established himself as a quality Major League hitter.

In 2026 with the Yankees, Volpe hit .240 with one home run in 56 games. His slugging percentage was just .322. After the All-Star break, things became even uglier: .212/.250/.303. Eventually the Yankees finally did what they seemingly refused to do for years. They stopped protecting the idea of Anthony Volpe and started evaluating the actual baseball player. And that brings me back to something Bleeding Yankee Blue raised months ago.

In May, BYB published HOW YANKEE SCOUTS LOST THEIR WAY IN THE VOLPE RECRUITMENT questioning whether people inside the Yankees scouting operation became so invested in Volpe and his family that objective evaluation may have been compromised. My opinion based on my research by the way. That's not a proven allegation of wrongdoing. But after watching this play out, I think it's absolutely fair to question the process.

Because the Yankees didn't merely like Anthony Volpe. They seemed determined to make Anthony Volpe happen. Remember how this started. Before becoming the Yankees' Opening Day shortstop in 2023, Volpe had played just 22 games at Triple-A.

Twenty-two. Then suddenly he wasn't developing in Scranton anymore. He was the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees. He hit .209 with a .283 OBP his rookie season.

Instead of wondering whether they rushed him, the Yankees doubled down. Then they doubled down again. In 2024, the OPS was .657. In 2025, he hit .212 with a .272 OBP. And in 2026, after returning from shoulder surgery, we got another .240 average, one home run and a .646 OPS before the Yankees finally sent him back down. At what point does "development" become organizational stubbornness?

That's why the Yankee scouting and development operation deserves scrutiny. Not because Anthony Volpe was some ridiculous prospect nobody else liked. That's revisionist history. He was legitimately highly regarded and had tremendous minor-league seasons.

The failure was something different. The Yankees appear to have confused potential with readiness. Good scouting isn't simply saying, This kid has talent. Good player development is knowing when that talent is ready for Yankee Stadium. And apparently it wasn't. Worse, once the Yankees committed to Volpe, they seemingly spent years trying to prove their original decision correct.

Bad offensive season? Be patient. Another bad offensive season? He's developing. Defensive problems? He's working through them. Another prolonged slump? Trust the process.

Meanwhile, other players get a bus ticket to Scranton before their laundry is finished. That is why the favoritism question isn't crazy. I can't tell you what happened behind closed doors. Neither can anyone else who wasn't in those rooms. But I can look at the extraordinary runway Anthony Volpe received and ask a very simple question:

Would another Yankee prospect have received the same treatment with the same production?

That's the question the Yankees should have to answer. And now look where we've ended up. The shortstop the Yankees were so convinced was ready in 2023 is back in Triple-A in 2026, learning second base, while George Lombard Jr. has been promoted to play shortstop in the Bronx.

That's not development going according to plan. That's the plan changing because the original one failed. And yes, Volpe getting hits in Scranton is better than him going 0-for-30. Wonderful.

He's supposed to hit Triple-A pitching. He's supposed to look more comfortable there. The standard can't suddenly become, Anthony made a nice play at second base today.

What are we doing here?

This isn't personal against Volpe. He didn't promote himself in 2023. He didn't write the scouting reports. He didn't put himself in the lineup year after year. The Yankees did. They made him believe he was major league ready. That's why, if this experiment ultimately fails, the Yankees shouldn't simply toss Volpe into the pile of prospects who "didn't work out" and move along.

They should examine the entire process. Who decided 22 Triple-A games were enough? Who was pounding the table that he was Major League ready? Why did his leash remain so long despite years of below-average offensive production? And did organizational attachment to the player make it harder for the Yankees to objectively admit they had made a mistake?

Those are legitimate questions.

Because maybe Anthony Volpe wasn't the biggest failure in the Anthony Volpe experiment. Maybe the failure belongs to the people who were so determined to prove they were right about him that it took four years to consider they might have been wrong. And if that's the case, don't just investigate Anthony Volpe's swing. Investigate the Yankees' evaluation process.

And for my personal opinion? I don't want this guy back in pinstripes. All you have to do is look at how graceful George Lombard Jr. is at short and recognize that we were missing an actual baseball player in the middle infield for 3 years.  It's over.  

It's time to turn the page.  That's it.