James Rowson had his work cut out for him when he returned to the Yankees over the offseason, but one batter had already gotten a head start on changing his swing by the time the hitting coach settled in.
That would be Anthony Volpe, who fell shy of offensive expectations under the direction of two hitting coaches in 2023. While he became the first Yankees rookie to join the 20-20 club, the Gold Glove shortstop hit .209 with a .283 on-base percentage, an 81 OPS+ and 167 strikeouts.
“Not a good year offensively at all,” Volpe bluntly told the Daily News. “You can’t cherry-pick anything. But looking back, I’m grateful for it. It definitely helped me learn a lot and kind of gave me a foundation of what I went to work on this offseason and this year.”
Volpe’s bat path became his top priority over the winter.
When he watched his more experienced teammates last season, the 22-year-old saw swings that left more “margin for error.” Whether they were late or early, veterans still had “enough space and length in the front of the zone to get enough on any type of ball,” he said.
“So that’s kind of what I went for,” Volpe continued.
By the time Rowson and Volpe connected in Tampa back in January, the latter had clearly made modifications.
“He deserves all the credit in the world for that,” Rowson told The News. “I saw some video of him from last year and then I got a chance to see him when he was working out in the offseason, and he had already made great strides in correcting some of those things. He looked at the video with some things from last year and then made some adjustments on his own and started working the right way. The swing looks really good right now. Absolutely, his swing path has cleaned up and just continues to get better as we keep going every day.”
Rowson is not the only one digging Volpe’s tweaks.
Aaron Judge highlighted the youngster’s bat path after position players reported, while Aaron Boone has said that the changes are “very evident” on multiple occasions.
“He’s a little more postured,” the manager added. “He’s not sinking down as much and coming up through. Noticeable difference, I feel like, with more pitches at different points in the strike zone.”
So far, Volpe’s revamped swing has produced two hits — including an RBI triple against the Rays on Tuesday — over three spring training contests. He’s yet to strikeout or walk.
Volpe ties it up 👏 pic.twitter.com/sDH3Pkoz5G
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 27, 2024
Volpe has called the alterations a “work in progress,” but he said they felt “comfortable” after debuting them in game action on Feb. 24.
“It’s feeling really natural,” Volpe said prior to that. “I’m not really thinking about it at all. It’s just like little things on the edges and just trying to make the most room for error and adjustability. You want that built in. I don’t know how many times you take your A+, perfect swing over the course of a season. It’s probably not nearly as much as a lot of people think.”
Volpe and the Yankees are hoping that his bat path renovations — and more experience against major league pitching — will help him cut down on strikeouts in his sophomore season. His chase and whiff rates were above 28% last year, while his 27.8% strikeout rate sat among the highest in the majors.
Rowson also thinks the new bat path will let Volpe do more damage on pitches in the zone after he totaled 21 homers last season.
“It buys you a little bit more time,” Rowson explained. “It allows you to see the ball a little longer, allows the ball to get a little closer to you. Ultimately, you do make some better decisions. But I think it also gives you an opportunity to cover more of the strike zone and drive more pitches within the strike zone.”
Volpe knows that he chased too many pitches out of the zone with two strikes last year. He said that, and fouling off too many pre-two-strike pitches that he should have ripped, led to the strikeouts.
Less strikeouts and better swing decisions could also result in more walks for Volpe. He did a solid job accumulating free passes early on last season before quickly falling off.
Fewer walks and on-base opportunities led to Volpe stealing less as the year went on. He swiped 24 bases overall, but he only made 10 attempts in the second half after trying 19 times in the first half.
Boone reasoned that the league “clamped down on him” as opponents became aware of the threat, but Volpe acknowledged that his struggles to get on base also contributed.
“With more opportunities, I’ll be able to pick my spots,” said Volpe, who isn’t setting any numerical goals for himself this season. “And there’s gonna be a lot of opportunities.”
Volpe’s speed would make him an ideal leadoff option down the road if he can boost his bat-to-ball skills and ability to control the zone. However, Rowson didn’t want to pigeonhole the still-developing infielder.
“When this guy figures it out, we don’t know yet what he’s going to be capable of,” Rowson said. “Who knows where he can hit in the order?
“I know one thing: once he continues to figure it out and does it consistently, he’s going to be an elite type of hitter. So at that point, it’s just gonna depend on who’s around him, what you want to do, and how you want to use him.”
