Anthony Volpe hits leadoff homer in push to make Yankees’ roster
Volpe #Volpe
BRADENTON, Fla. — Anthony Volpe started his latest audition to make the Yankees’ roster with a bang.
The club’s top prospect led off Thursday’s Grapefruit League game against the Pirates by smacking a home run against right-hander Mitch Keller at LECOM Park.
Volpe worked a 2-2 count before Keller threw him a slider on the outside edge that he didn’t miss, crushing it 394 feet to left field. It was Volpe’s first home run of the spring as he improved to batting 3-for-9 in four games.
Starting at second base on Thursday, but in the competition for the starting shortstop job this spring, Volpe has made his impact felt in each game he has played so far. On Wednesday against the Nationals, he did it with his glove after entering the game as a defensive replacement for Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop.
Anthony Volpe leadoff dinger! pic.twitter.com/7pnv1yHbgk
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 2, 2023 
Oswald Peraza drew the start at shortstop on Thursday, but manager Aaron Boone is getting each of the shortstop candidates time at other positions to make sure they get enough game reps while increasing their versatility.
Of course, spring training results can be misleading and will not be the only factor the Yankees consider when constructing their roster to bring north.
“Hopefully we just know,” Boone said before the game when asked about finding the right guy in position battles. “But I don’t know if there’s a criteria or a checklist. Performance matters, but it’s not everything. You try not to get too bogged down with, ‘This guy hit .320 in spring.’ Hopefully you’re making the best decision moving forward as far as trying to project – in the short-term and in the long-term. There’s a lot of things that go into that evaluation.
“It may be that one guy just makes it very clear to all of us that it’s obvious. Performance in that certainly matters and is a thing, but you try not to get too carried away results-wise with the spring training stuff.”