Anthony Volpe's strong defense has been a pleasant surprise for Yankees

DETROIT — Anthony Volpe came into Monday night with 18 homers, a nice total for the 5-9, 180-pound rookie.

But it’s not a surprising figure. He has always shown promising pop, totaling 27 homers between Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley in 2021 and 21 homers last season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre.

But what has surprised some in the Yankees’ organization, including Aaron Boone, has been Volpe’s work in the field in his first big-league season at the high-profile position of shortstop.

“I think he’s absolutely right smack in the middle of the Gold Glove conversation. I think he’s been that good at shortstop,” Boone said Monday before the Yankees started a four-game series against the Tigers. “I thought he would be able to handle shortstop . . . I don’t know that I expected him to be this good at the position this early. All the little nuance things, the routine, he’s just really, really good at.”

Volpe came into Monday with a team-high 12 errors, but that isn’t always the best measure of a defender, especially at a position that sees as many balls as a shortstop does.

It has not been, by any stretch, seamless in the field for Volpe, who at times rushes throws and occasionally forces a throw when the prudent decision might be to eat the ball. But even rival scouts who believe his best position long-term is second base have come away impressed overall with what they’ve seen from him.

“I would still probably say his better position [long-term] is second, but he’s held his own there [at short],” one National League scout said. “You can win with him there.”

Volpe does not have the traditional cannon arm for the position, but at this stage, it’s proved to be good enough.

“That may be what’s impressed me the most, because he doesn’t have a great arm,” Boone said. “But it doesn’t really come into play that much. He plays the position so fast and with great energy but without being out of control. He’s got great range and he really uses his feet well to cut down angles to give himself an opportunity to make difficult plays without doing it with a great arm.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.