Yankees’ Fireside Chat: Pitchers to focus on from Day 1 of Spring Training

Plenty of interesting things went down in the Yankees‘ 2-0 loss to the Orioles in Sarasota, as their pitching staff was rather impressive against a lineup chock-full of Baltimore’s key bats.

Elmer Rodriguez, the no. 3 prospect in the Yankees’ system in our pre-season top 30 for 2026, took the mound for the Bronx Bombers with a tough task in front of him, and some interesting relievers followed.

From a veteran reliever learning new tricks to an old prospect favorite having a standout performance, we’re discussing the three pitchers I walked away the most intruiged by from Day 1.

As a disclaimer, the results themselves aren’t as important to me as the process; some in Yankees’ camp are looking to fight for a spot while others have theirs locked up and are just toying with some new things.

READ: Yankees’ Gerrit Cole hits 96 MPH in first live bullpen since Tommy John Surgery

Did Elmer Rodriguez Look Major League Ready In Yankees’ Spring Opener?

As the Yankees’ top-rated pitching prospect on our pre-season top 30 for the organization, Elmer Rodriguez has some pressure on him given his proximity to the Major Leagues.

Not that Spring Training results are the end-all-be-all, but the way that Rodriguez competes on the mound is going to be relevant to the front office and how MLB-ready they view him.

One injury could at least open the door to him making the Opening Day roster even if Ryan Yarbrough seemingly has the inside track over him, and I thought the Orioles provided him a good chance to prove himself.

Elmer Rodriguez was facing nine hitters who all had MLB experience as recently as 2025, with eight of them being projected to make Baltimore’s Opening Day roster according to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource.

With an 84.6 MPH Average EV and a 70% GB%, Rodriguez limited the Orioles’ ability to generate damage on contact, and that was due to his incredibly diverse pitch mix which he had on full display this afternoon.

With three different fastball shapes, two breaking balls, and a changeup to tie his arsenal together, the 22-year-old had everything working in the 2026 Grapefruit League opener.

His pitch plot has plenty of coverage, the ability to spin the ball east-west is enticing and he has a good amount of verticality in his mix as well.

The cutter sits in the middle of everything and helps Rodriguez a lot against left-handed hitters, but there are a couple of areas where I think Rodriguez could use some improvement.

I was not thrilled with his four-seam shape, which doesn’t have enough ride to be an effective pitch even with the solid velocity and low arm angle he has on the pitch.

If the Yankees can get him to throw a 13-14 IVB four-seamer then suddenly this mix becomes truly complete and I could see him exceeding his mid-rotation projection and slotting into the top-half of a competitive starting five.

Overall, I liked what I saw from Elmer Rodriguez who was put to the test against some very good hitters and looked like he was on their level, attacking the zone aggressively and keeping hitters off balance all afternoon.

Jake Bird’s New Weapon Is a Difference Maker

The Yankees’ acquisition of Jake Bird seemed to be a complete disaster last year after he made two ugly appearances and was sent down to Scranton where he would remain for the rest of the season.

I remain a fan of the addition and think 2026 will be a big year for him, with today being a nice positive because we saw some nice cutters today (tagged as four-seamers) which could help him a ton.

His pitch mix didn’t have anything that sat in-between his sinker and breaking balls which gave hitters a much easier time reading what he was throwing out of hand.

Now he has an answer to that gaping hole in his pitch plot; this cutter sits in the middle of the x-axis and creates a pitch that bridges his sinker-sweeper-curveball mix.

This cutter plays an important role in setting up his other already-existing pitches, the bread-and-butter of his mix that helped him break out in the first three months of the 2025 season.

It also plays a second important role by giving a low-release height pitcher something that he can use up in the zone for some swings and misses.

Jake Bird’s deceptive release point and good feel for spinning the baseball could allow him to re-write his image as a Yankee, and I think he can play a huge role in their bullpen this upcoming season.

A Hidden Bullpen Gem in the Yankees System

Carson Coleman was surprisingly effective in his first appearance of Spring Training, using almost exclusively his fastball to carve up the three hitters he faced in Sarasota.

It should be noted that these hitters were not nearly as good as the onces that Elmer Rodriguez or Jake Bird faced, but I still found some positives that could hold real weight when the regular season begins.

The wide release he has and the wicked movement he gets on that pitch allows him to buzz righties in for swings and misses or front-hip a two-seamer for a called strike three to a lefty.

He’ll need to throw a reliable secondary in order for me to truly buy in, but the lone breaking ball he throw is encouraging to me because its essentially a gyro slider from a release point that often produces sweepers.

I think there’s room for that breaking ball to become a buzzsaw on two-strikes and make Coleman a more platoon-neutral pitch, he was once one of my favorite prospects in the system because of his explosive mix.

Injuries have robbed him of a chance to break into the big leagues, hopefully he has a strong Spring Training that pushes him into Triple-A where he can gain some more favor with the Yankees.