Let’s take a trip in the time machine. We don’t have to go back very far, just to 2023. Heading into that season, the top prospect in all of baseball was Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles. Not a surprise to see a talented shortstop sitting at the top of the list.

Now, if you scroll down that list a bit, you’ll find another 24-year-old shortstop, the next Derek Jeter, according to some Anthony Volpe. You can stop groaning now.

Given the fact that Henderson and Volpe were both 24 years old at the time, both shortstops, and both ranked in the Top 5 of prospect lists, it’s worthwhile to compare them. And as you might expect, there really is no comparison, so if you’re a Yankee fan like me, you may want to skip this piece!

Henderson has been a hit

Gunnar Henderson has been exactly as advertised. Unlike Volpe, he did have a brief cup of coffee in 2022 and managed to accumulate 1.0 WAR while posting a .259/.348/.440 slash line with the Orioles.

In the three years since, he has been outstanding, compiling 20.4 WAR and establishing a career slash line of .270/.347/.484. He won Rookie of the Year in 2023 and finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2024. While he took a step back in 2025, he still managed an OPS+ of 121.

Oddly, the Orioles have not extended him, which sets him up for a massive payday after the 2028 season. He is already on a Hall of Fame trajectory and may even be a target for the Yankees in 2029. Sometimes, the prospect rankings really are spot on.

Volpe has been a flop

And then sometimes, they are not.

Volpe won the Yankees’ starting shortstop job in 2023 with a solid spring training, despite plenty of discussion about whether he should begin the season in Triple-A. That pretty much ends the positive portion of this write-up.

Well, almost. In 2023, Volpe finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and won a Gold Glove. His .209/.283/.383 slash line was roughly league-average for a shortstop, and he accumulated 3.3 WAR.

Unfortunately, in 2024 and 2025, he showed that he was largely the same hitter while his defensive value declined, totaling just 5 WAR over those two seasons. He now owns an ugly career slash line of .222/.283/.379. Like Henderson, Volpe will be a free agent after the 2028 season, but unlike Henderson, he should hope he isn’t cut before then.

Conclusion

This will not be the last piece I write about Anthony Volpe. No Yankee took more criticism in 2025 than he did. Some blamed his poor performance on injuries, while others, including me, have simply come to the conclusion that he is not very good.

I chose to compare him to Henderson because in 2023, they were on the same trajectory. Both were viewed as up-and-coming franchise shortstops, the Cal Ripken and Derek Jeter of their time. The jury is still deliberating on the Ripken-Henderson comparison, but it’s already fair to say that Volpe is no Jeter.

The only question left is this: will Volpe still be the Yankees’ shortstop when he returns from injury? And yes, I’ll almost certainly be writing about that at some point.