New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Wolfie (23) is experiencing a prolonged hitting slump. Considering that he was once considered the successor of New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter, it is a surprising outcome.
SNY, a New York-based media outlet, said in a recent broadcast that Volpi should be reduced to Triple-A in the Minor League to give him time to adjust his batting performance. “There is no doubt about his flagship strength and defense capability. However, he is not hitting the ball. Rather, using Oswaldo Cabrera as the starting shortstop is beneficial to the Yankees.”
Volpi, a native of New York State, has been in the spotlight as a top prospect since his amateur days, as he was nominated by his current team, Yankees, as a total of 30 times in the first round of the Major League Rookie Draft in 2019.
As a former first-round player, he made his Major League debut last year, just four years after entering the professional league. Not only did he make his debut, but he also played in a total of 159 games, posting a batting average of 0.209 with 21 homers, 60 RBIs and 24 steals. Despite his low batting average, a rookie made a huge mark of 20 (homer)-20 (homer) in his debut season, impressing his presence.
After the end of the season, he also embraced the American League’s Gold Glove for shortstop, which is given to the best defender. New York media welcomed the move, saying that he is as good as Derek Jeter, the “captain” of the New York Yankees. Less than a year later, however, his presence collapsed to the point where a “minor league demotion” was discussed.
The problem is the sense of hitting. As of Tuesday (Korea time), Wolfie has played in a total of 149 games, posting a batting average of 0.246 with 11 homers, 55 RBIs and 26 steals. On the surface, his performance is not bad. However, his strength has plummeted. Most of his performance was achieved in the first half of this season. 토토사이트
Since the All Star game, Wolfie’s batting average has gradually declined, and in September he has only hit 0.163 with 0 homers and 4 RBIs. His on-base percentage is also falling to the bottom with 0.176. He has not been able to steal base as he has not been able to provide any help to his team in terms of offense.
As the situation turned out, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone put Wolfie on the bench for two consecutive days on the 18th following the game on the 17th. Instead, Cabrera, who has a good batting sense, was put in the position.
As of Tuesday, Cabrera has appeared in a total of 102 games this season, posting a batting average of 0.252 with eight homers, 36 RBIs and four steals. His OPS is also not outstanding at 0.671. However, he has been on a shaky ground lately.
He warmed up last month with a batting average of 0.265 and an OPS of 0.777, and this month he became the hottest hitter in the Yankees with a batting average of 0.417 and an OPS of 1.000. In particular, Cabrera’s performance stands out, as most of the main hitters of the Yankees are in a slump except Aaron Judge (32) and Juan Soto (26).
As of Wednesday, the Yankees are ranking first in the American League East with 88 wins and 63 losses and a 0.583 win rate this season. As the team is ahead of second-ranked Baltimore by a gap of four games, it is possible to win the title in the district unless something unexpected happens. As a result, the team is set to advance to the postseason for the first time in two years since 2022.
If rookie Volpi fails to revive his batting sense for the remaining two weeks of the regular season, there is a possibility that he may start the postseason from the bench, which starts on the 2nd of next month.