KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Yankees knew what to expect from Anthony Volpe defensively heading into October.
What they would get from him offensively was more of a wild card.
But in the first three postseason games of his career, the shortstop had delivered in both facets to help put the Yankees on the brink of advancing to the ALCS.
Beyond Volpe’s defense, which helped save Luke Weaver in the eighth inning of Game 3 against the Royals on Wednesday, he has been putting together quality at-bats to provide a strong presence near the bottom of the lineup.
“The whole series [I’ve been impressed],” manager Aaron Boone said Thursday before Game 4 at Kauffman Stadium. “I feel like he’s been hitting the ball on the button all series and a couple good walks. Really excited. I thought his work the week leading up to [the ALDS] was really good. His [batting practices], his sim game stuff. Definitely like where he’s at offensively right now, giving good at-bats.”
On Wednesday, that led to reaching base three times on a single and two walks, all on full counts.
He led off the fifth inning against Seth Lugo and quickly fell behind 0-2 before battling back to 3-2 and lacing a single up the middle.
He later came in to score on Juan Soto’s sacrifice fly to make it a 2-0 game.
Through three games, Volpe had drawn four walks and struck out just once.
It marked the first time he had walked four times in a three-game span since late April.
“I definitely feel good,” Volpe said. “I feel like I’m controlling the zone and in a good position to be able to handle mistakes.”
Even Volpe’s outs have been encouraging, hitting the ball hard — with everything coming off his bat at 94 mph or higher — including two flyouts to the warning track.
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Volpe spent the regular season mostly in feast-or-famine mode at the plate, either on a hot streak or brutal slump and often no in between.
He was scuffling again for most of September as the Yankees gave him two days off in just over a week and in two other games pinch-hit for him late in a game with Oswaldo Cabrera and Jasson Dominguez.
By the end of the regular season, Volpe had finished with a .293 on-base percentage (14th-lowest among 129 qualified hitters) and a .657 OPS (12th-lowest), but the Yankees remained confident that the 23-year-old would eventually be a hitter that controlled the zone.
Early on in his first postseason, the lifelong Yankees fan was stepping up in the pressurized moments at the plate.
“I like what I’m seeing,” Boone said.
Then there is his defensive impact.
Through three games, Volpe had a pair of errant throws after making difficult fielding plays on ground balls.
But for the most part, he had played a strong shortstop, including ranging into shallow center field to the right of second base to make a diving catch on Vinnie Pasquantino’s soft liner in the eighth inning with a man on Wednesday night.
Off the bat, Boone said he was thinking, “That’s a hit. Crap.”
The Royals would have had runners on the corners with one out in a 3-2 game.
Instead, it was the second out, and after Salvador Perez followed with a single (that would have tied the game), Weaver got out of the jam.
“I think Volpe is one of the more athletic guys I’ve seen,” Weaver said. “I think he walks around with some — it’s like Reebok pump shoes. He just kind of presets it, gets ready to go. That ball, that was a tough inning because they put some good swings on it, and that would have been trouble right there for sure. But the athleticism shows, like our guys do, and makes a big out.”
