New York Yankees right-handed ace Gerrit Cole was on the mound in the Bronx in street clothes on Thursday where he neared triple digits on the radar gun.
It is finally time for baseball to get back underway in the Bronx and Gerrit Cole made his debut on the mound where he neared 100 mph on the radar gun. He faced Aaron Judge, Luke Voit, and Aaron Hicks where he looked good and reminded the Yankees why they gave him a historic contract this past offseason.
“He is pretty close to game speed. I think it was 95 to 99 [mph], so we are in a game-ready velocity,’’ pitching coach Matt Blake said on Zoom on Thursday. “Now it is kind of fine-tuning it and sustaining over longer pitch counts. I think he feels good about where he is, and obviously he is always a critic of himself, kind of tightening things up whether it is a certain pitch to a certain location. Obviously we faced some hitters and get more feedback in that way.’’
This is only the beginning of what is shaping up to be a very interesting season across all of MLB. I don’t believe that anyone is entirely sure how the season will progress and how the new rules and limitations will affect the game, but regardless of how it goes, we should all be excited to watch Gerrit Cole lighting up the radar gun in the Bronx.
“The nice thing is that it doesn’t take fans in the stands to get him amped so we are good there.’’ Matt Blake said on Thursday.
During this camp, the Yankees are making sure their pitchers aren’t being overworked, so they are implementing a 50-60 pitch cap for their starters as they get ready for the beginning of the regular season later this month.