The New York Yankees, even while only a couple weeks into the 2023 MLB season, have already suffered a major injury to one of their star power hitters, Giancarlo Stanton. Yankees manager Aaron Boone hopes that Stanton’s injury, which is a hamstring strain, will only sideline him for six weeks, but still, six weeks is six weeks and there needs to be movement in the Yankees lineup during that time period to account for the loss of Stanton.

This is where 21-year old rookie Anthony Volpe comes in. Volpe has been moved to the leadoff spot in the Yankees order, and as of yesterday 4/18, he had played 2 games holding the leadoff role. Volpe going into Tuesday’s games only held a .191 batting average throughout his first 16 games in the major leagues. What has led to Boone placing him in the leadoff spot, is his base-stealing prowess. Volpe last Saturday became the first Yankee to steal three bases in one game since Ichiro Suzuki did on September 19th, 2012. Volpe at that time was only 11 years old.

What has led to Boone placing him in the leadoff spot, is his base-stealing prowess. Volpe last Saturday became the first Yankee to steal three bases in one game since Ichiro Suzuki did on September 19th, 2012. Volpe at that time was only 11 years old. In addition to this statistic, following his game on Saturday, Volpe noted to the reporters that he was the fourth Yankee in the past 34 years to record six steals in the first 15 games of the season. He joined Jacoby Ellsbury in 2014, Brett Gardener in 2010, and Derek Jeter in 1998.

Volpe in this season thus far, despite it being so early on, has certainly shaped up to be quite the player, and now his efforts are being put to the test as he holds the title of leadoff hitter for the New York Yankees.

As far as the Yankee’s progress as a team has been thus far, they sit in 3rd place in the AL East with a 10-7 record behind the Blue Jays, and the Rays. The Yankees are also the only team in the entire MLB remaining that still holds the status of not losing a series (a group of games against a team) yet so far in the 2023 season. They tied a series of 4 games with the Minnesota Twins last week, but they still have yet to lose a series outright. Much of their woes thus far in the season have come from facing ‘aces’ as one might call them on the opposing team in the form of the pitcher, but the Yankees pitching on some days thus far have also fallen flat.

Still, it is early in the season and there will surely be plenty of movement across the standings in the weeks to come. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the AL East and the MLB overall, as there are many teams who could potentially win the 2023 World Series.