What Yankees’ Gerrit Cole said about Anthony Volpe’s impressive start

New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is well on his way to a breakout campaign during his MLB second season, and ace Gerrit Cole offered his thoughts on what he’s seen.

During the YES Network broadcast of Tuesday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cole put on the headset, joining Michael Kay and David Cone in the booth to chat about his progress and what the Yankees have done thus far.

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The interview went through Volpe’s first at-bat, which resulted in him smoking a line drive single to right field—a welcomed change to the young shortstop’s game this season.

“This kid’s on fire,” Cole said as Volpe made his way down to the baseline. “I see a flatter [bat] path, but I think more so, I see a mind that’s constantly trying to get better and chewing up as much information as he can. So a swing change or plane change is a product of who he is as a person.”

Few players have started the season the way Volpe has. Not only has he continued to provide Gold Glove play in the middle of the infield, but the changes he’s made to his approach at the plate are incredibly tangible.

Entering Tuesday night, Volpe had seen 87 pitches on the season. Just three of them resulted in whiffs. That’s a major change from what we saw during his rookie season in 2023. The second-year shortstop is 9-for-16 with a home run, three doubles and four walks to begin the new season.