With Opening Day on the horizon, many teams across the majors are making their final roster adjustments and the New York Yankees made one exciting one when they informed top prospect Anthony Volpe that he made the opening day roster.
Volpe, 21, will start at shortstop for the Yankees after a stellar performance during spring training that made it a slam dunk decision to bring him up to the majors, and he was informed by manager Aaron Boone in a now viral video that made the rounds on social media.
Volpe batted .314/.417/.647 with three home runs and 10 extra-base hits in 17 games in Spring Training.
“My heart was beating pretty hard,” Volpe said (h/t ESPN). “Incredible. I’m just so excited. It’s hard for me to even put into words.” Volpe now becomes the youngest Yankees shortstop since Derek Jeter debuted at the age of 20 back in 1995.
Volpe also becomes the second homegrown shortstop since Jeter retired back in 2014, alongside Gleyber Torres.
“He’s earned the right to take that spot, and we’re excited for him and excited for us,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of Volpe. “He just dominated all sides of the ball during February and March, and that bodes well, obviously, for him as we move forward.”
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get into the organization,” Volpe said. “This day, this feeling, this moment was kind of what I’ve worked my whole life for when I made that big decision.”
“Right now, it’s crazy,” Volpe continued. “I don’t even know what lies ahead, but Thursday, I just want to go out and play and have fun.”
