Is the clock ticking on New York Yankees star Anthony Volpe?
It feels like Volpe was the top prospect in the Yankees' system yesterday, and he's done some good things in his first two-plus years as the starting shortstop. But he's proven inconsistent at the plate, though his 2025 season has improved his first two years' totals thus far.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have another future star in the pipeline: 19-year-old George Lombard Jr., the team's 2023 first-round pick who turned heads in spring training and has continued to stand out during his early-season action at High-A Hudson Valley.
On Tuesday, USA Today's Larry Berger took the comparison to the next level. Volpe, Berger said, could be in danger of losing his starting role eventually when Lombard earns three more promotions to get himself to the Bronx.
"Lombard Jr. may soon be on a collision course with Anthony Volpe, that ex-Renegade shortstop who popped 15 home runs in 213 at-bats in ‘21, for the coveted shortstop position in New York," Berger wrote.
So far this season, Lombard is hitting .306 with a ridiculous .494 on-base percentage. He's also got a home run, a triple, and four doubles so far in 19 games played with Hudson Valley.
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There is, of course, the chance that Lombard could move positions once he arrives in the majors. Volpe, for all of his offensive shortcomings, has quickly proven he's one of the best defenders in the majors at the all-important shortstop spot.
“We drafted him as a shortstop. I think that is probably where he stays, (but) you never know with this game,” said Renegades manager James Cooper, per Berger. “George is a baseball player. If he had to be a catcher, he could be a catcher. If he had to be a center-fielder, he’d be a center-fielder.”
The Yankees do have a fairly obvious deficiency at third base that they could be keeping open in part because Lombard may be on his way by the second half of the 2026 season.
However, the youngster is a shortstop by nature, and the 23-year-old Volpe hasn't proven to be a star yet at the position. If the elder statesman wants to keep the gig for a long time, he would be wise to show his offensive improvements to begin 2025 are long-lasting.
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