close
close

The Yankees' lineup is slowed down by Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells

The Yankees' lineup is slowed down by Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells

Aaron Judge isn't the only one weighing on the Yankee lineup lately.

The team used two of its most recent first-round picks to get younger over the last two seasons, and Anthony Volpe has developed into a solid everyday shortstop, even if his offense is inconsistent.

And Austin Wells replaced Jose Trevino as the starting catcher in the second half of 2024.


Anthony Volpe swings during the Yankees' Game 1 loss to the Dodgers on October 25, 2024.
Anthony Volpe swings during the Yankees' Game 1 loss to the Dodgers on October 25, 2024. Jason Scenes/New York Post

The plays worked so well that the Yankees are in the World Series for the first time since 2009, but both are off to terrible starts in a series against the Dodgers in which the Yankees lost the first two games and return to the Bronx want to turn the series around in Game 3 on Monday night.

The two players, who came up through the minor league system together, had their spots in the lineup with the bases loaded and the Yankees trailing by two runs in the ninth of Saturday's loss to the Dodgers in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.

It didn't go well.

Volpe fumbled on a 2-2 sweep by right-hander Blake Treinen that ended up well outside the strike zone for the second time since the start of the inning.

The Dodgers then went to left-hander Alex Vesia to face the left-swinging Wells, and Aaron Boone didn't even let Wells come to the plate.

Instead, Trevino was used as a pinch-hitter against the left-handed hitter, even though the veteran catcher only had one hit in the postseason.


Follow the Post's coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:


He lined out to center on the first pitch he saw to end the game.

It was part of a difficult first two games of the series for players drafted a year apart, with Volpe going 30th overall in 2019 and Wells going 28th overall in 2020.

After an impressive first two rounds of the postseason in which Volpe pitched some of his best at-bats of the year, showed great patience at the plate and consistently hit the ball hard, he is hitless in eight at-bats against the Dodgers with four strikeouts.


Austin Wells
Austin Wells has collapsed at the worst time for the Yankees. Jason Scenes/New York Post

The only time Volpe has reached base in his last 11 plate appearances was an intentional walk in the top of the sixth of Game 1 against lefty Anthony Banda.

Wells' slump dates back to his final 14 games of the regular season, when the catcher went 3-for-45 with a dozen strikeouts.

“Wells has the same thing over and over again when he hits,” said one AL scout. “It’s not like Volpe, where the Dodgers have handled him well and maybe he can make an adjustment. With Wells, it seems like he’s doing this to himself.”

Overall, Volpe has a .270 slugging percentage this postseason, while Wells is at .171.

And if the Yankees want to mount a comeback, they'll need more than just Judge to get started.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *