Yankees have options at leadoff, but do they have an answer?

The simple answer is Anthony Volpe.

Well, Volpe is the easiest answer to the question of who hits leadoff for the Yankees in 2025 — and perhaps the future — if his approach from the 2024 postseason is here to stay.

In case you need a reminder, Volpe stretched out his plate appearances longer, hit the ball harder and distributed it around the field last October with greater frequency. His batting average was .286 in those 14 games, but even that strong result did not reflect how well Volpe was striking the ball. More impressive was his .407 on-base percentage and 4.81 pitches per plate appearance.

It was just 59 plate appearances, but the mature type that could make you see how the Yankees answer a huge question this season. The problem was that Volpe had 689 plate appearances during the regular season and roller-coasted from encouraging to dismaying for stretches at a time and wound up with a .293 on-base percentage — the worst for anyone allowed to bat 689 times since Starlin Castro’s .284 in 705 plate appearances in 2013.