The headline is admittedly misleading because, in all honesty, Anthony Volpe had a pretty okay rookie season in 2023.
He took home a Gold Glove at shortstop, an incredibly hard task, and finished eight in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He even had a 20-20 season, finishing with 21 and 24, respectively. The only downside to Volpe’s first pro season was he posted a meager line of .209/.283/.383 with a .666 OPS. Now add 167 ugly strikeouts and his strikeout rate (K%) finishing in the 19th percentile.
Not exactly inspiring numbers from the future franchise shortstop, are they?