Anthony Volpe building case to win shortstop job, and Yankees are ‘paying attention’

TAMPA — The packed house cheered loud and proud seeing the Yankees’ leadoff hitter walk to the plate Saturday, then it turned up the volume when Steinbrenner Field public address Paul Alden announced Anthony Volpe.

This was Aaron Judge treatment for the organization’s No. 1 prospect.

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Volpe’s second time up, it was more of the same we’ve been seeing since Grapefruit League play began last weekend, another rope.

This time, he laced a high liner to deep left field that banged off the base of the wall. Volpe took off like he was an Olympic sprinter running for gold, then pulled up at second base for a standup double.

The crowd roared again.

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This was another impressive day for Volpe, who hit the ball on the screws twice going 1-for-4 in the Yankees’ 14-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Right before our eyes, Yankees fans are falling in love with Volpe, a 21-year-old Jersey boy who just might be playing his way into serious consideration to steal the open shortstop job.

If you’re handicapping the competition today, it’s still probably the same as it was at the start of spring training. It’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa vs. rookie Oswald Peraza with Volpe a longshot because of his experience, 22 Triple-A games and none in the bigs.

But ground is being made up.

Back in January, Aaron Boone told YES, “You never know, (Volpe) could still kick the door in and force the onus on us.”

Volpe is kicking hard and the door isn’t slammed shut.

A week into the games, Volpe has outplayed Kiner-Falefa and Peraza.

The sample size is like a marshmallow in a bowl of Lucky Charms, but Volpe is a .333 hitter with two doubles and a homer in 15 at-bats compared to Peraza’s .222 with two singles and IKF’s .167 with a double.

In the field, Volpe has made all the plays in his five games, two of them at shortstop and two at second base. And wherever Volpe goes and whatever he’s doing, he’s living up to his off-the-charts makeup every single minute of his first big-league spring training.

“I can’t say I’m surprised because I think we all expected him to handle it all well,” Boone said. “He’s just a good player that loves the game, that’s into all the little things about the game. With Anthony, the intangible part of it is really good.”

We’re still almost four weeks from Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on March 30, but the Yankees continue to say there is path to Volpe winning the job without Kiner-Falefa and/or Peraza getting hurt.

“Sure,” Boone said from his office desk late Saturday afternoon.

What are the Yankees looking to see from Volpe that could push him over the top?

Boone laughed hearing that question, then offered some sarcasm:

“If he hits a couple more homers next week, then has a couple good at-bats …”

Getting serious, Boone added, “It’s hard to answer what the criteria is, but we’re paying attention.”

Can Volpe actually beat out Peraza and IFK?

That’ll be something the Yankees front office and coaching staff weigh before leaving Florida.

Volpe has looked and acted ready, but there’s no pressure in spring training and it’s not like he’s facing a steady diet of quality major league arms in his plate appearances. Also, Volpe’s experience above Double-A is 18 games and 89 at-bats last September with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“That’s a factor,” Boone said. “It’s all things we’ve talked about as a group, and as we get towards the end of the spring and we start to make decisions about rosters, there’ll be a lot of voices that have thoughts and opinions.

“That’s part of his case, his case against. It’s all part of the equation that you’ve got to make a decision on at some point.”