2023 Topps Series 2

The 2023 Topps Series 2 was released in June. Once this product was available, I went to a sports card shop to buy some hobby packs and jumbo packs. I was just thinking whether I could get a hit from these packs. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any hits this time.

However, as usual, I always look for some rookie cards. And, this time, I found an Anthony Volpe rookie card from the 2023 Topps Series 2. While seeing this card, I began to think about his performance and the other shortstop.

Anthony Volpe was named the Yankees’ Opening Day shortstop in 2023. By far this season, he played 96 games for the Yankees, hitting .209/.281/.378 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI. Looking at these numbers, Volpe’s performance might not be very impressive.

Nonetheless, before evaluating Volpe’s performance. Let’s take a look at the other shortstop.

Player Comparison (First half of the career)
Derek Jeter (1996)		Anthony Volpe (2023)
82	G	91
79	H	66
4	HR	13
38	RBI	33
6	SB	16
.277	BA	.216
.355	OBP	.287
.730	OPS	.682

Derek Jeter made his MLB debut in 1995. However, he only played 15 games for the Yankees in 1995, hitting .250/.294/.375 with 7 RBI. Jeter didn’t crush any home runs in the first 15 games of his career. In 1996, Jeter started on Opening Day. In the first half of the 1996 season, Derek Jeter slashed .277/.355/.375 with 4 home runs, 6 stolen bases and 38 RBI over 82 games. Hence, when we look at Jeter’s performance and Volpe’s performance in the first half of their careers, Jeter had a higher batting average, on-base percentage and on-base plus slugging than Volpe did. Additionally, in 1996, Jeter collected 79 hits in 82 games before the All-Star break. This year, Volpe had 66 hits across 91 games in the first half of the season. He might not have a high batting average or OPS. However, he crushed 13 home runs and stole 16 bases before the All-Star break.

Stats (Anthony Volpe, 2023)
Month	G	H	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	OPS
March/ April	29	20	2	8	8	.217	.333	.670
May	29	19	6	16	5	.174	.216	.592
June	23	18	2	4	3	.265	.342	.768

Jeter’s first half season in 1996 looks better than Volpe’s first half season in 2023. But, when we look at Volpe’s performance each month, there’s something worth watching. He was hitting .217/.333/.337 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI in March and April. In May, he collected 6 home runs, but he only slashed .174/.216/.376. Nonetheless, in June, it seems that he did hit much better with a .265/.342/.426 slash line.

Expected Weighted On-base Average (Anthony Volpe, 2023)
Month	Fastballs	Breaking	Offspeed
April	.302	.266	.257
May	.393	.278	.173
June	.386	.175	.082
July	.384	.218	.276

Finally, let’s take a look at xwOBA. At the beginning of the 2023 season, Volpe’s xwOBA against fastballs was slightly above .300. However, over last 2 months, his xwOBA against fastballs was over .380, which shows that the quality of contact against fastballs is getting better. Nonetheless, against breaking balls and offspeed pitches, Volpe’s xwOBA hasn’t been good, which means that he still has something to improve.

Well, Derek Jeter is Derek Jeter. It’s not very easy to see a player who can hit as Jeter did in the first half of the 1996 season. Being a shortstop for the Yankees isn’t easy. Volpe didn’t have a great start as a shortstop of the Yankees. In particular, his OPS was below .700 from March to May. Nevertheless, his OPS increased to .768 in June. By far in July, it seems that he slows down bitt with an OPS of .630. Nonetheless, he now has 13 home runs in 96 games. There is something different from Jeter. Derek Jeter crushed 10 home runs in each of the 1996 and 1997 season. Moreover, Volpe’s xwOBA against fastballs has been over .380 since May and he can surely make good contact against fastballs. But, he has to make adjustments against offspeed pitches and breaking pitches. Again, it’s never easy to be an everyday shortstop for the Yankees. Volpe is now 22 years old and let’s see whether he can gradually hit better in the second half of the 2023 season.