Yankees' Top Prospect Anthony Volpe Makes 2023 Opening Day Roster

The time has finally come for Anthony Volpe to make his mark in the Bronx. The Yankees' top prospect was named Sunday to the team's Opening Day roster, perhaps marking the start of a new era for the organization.

Volpe, 21, is the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball and has positioned himself as the front-runner for the starting shortstop job after a great spring training. He is slashing .314/.417/.647 with a 1.064 OPS in 17 games.

Fans have been clamoring for the youngster to make the Opening Day roster for the last few weeks. If he does start at shortstop, he'd be the youngest Yankee to do since Derek Jeter in 1996.

After receiving the news, Volpe was at a loss for words when talking with the media about his promotion.

New York selected Volpe with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft, and the New Jerseyite has looked like an absolute steal as he's flown through the team's farm system and impressed at every stage.

He committed to play for Vanderbilt out of high school but chose to begin his professional career.

In 132 games last season split between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .249/.342/.460 with 21 homers, 65 RBI and 50 stolen bases.

With Isiah Kiner-Falefa—last season's starting shortstop—being prepped for a bench utility role, the competition seems to be between Volpe and fellow top prospect Oswald Peraza.

Peraza is the No. 3 prospect in the organization and got some run with the big league squad during the playoffs last year. But he's been outproduced by Volpe at the plate for the majority of spring training.

With just four days remaining until Opening Day at Yankee Stadium against the San Francisco Giants, Volpe had perhaps one of his best performances of the spring Saturday as he was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.

He'll look to bring a new offensive dimension at shortstop, which was a spot of weakness for New York last season with the position slashing .247/.308/.316 in 2022.