Cole leads arms vs. big boppers, impressed with this 'wild horse'

TAMPA, Fla. -- In Gerrit Cole’s view, the challenge of facing a lineup stacked with the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo provided “a good barometer” for the Yankees ace’s first competition of the spring.

“You’re just trying not to get one back up through the box,” Cole said. “There’s a little bit of elevated awareness there when those guys are up there.”

Having navigated two innings in Wednesday’s workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Cole said that he was pleased by his fastball command and the weak contact generated.

“I thought Gerrit looked really sharp,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It was good for those guys to get their pitch counts built up. It was another good step, with Gerrit leading it off.”

Once the session was complete, Cole eschewed the air-conditioned clubhouse in favor of a top-step viewpoint to watch the club’s other hurlers. Gearing up for his Grapefruit League start on March 3, against the Tigers, Cole studied how Carlos Rodón and Luis Severino approached the same frontline hitting group.

“I really like the way everybody looks,” Cole said. “Sevy looks fresh. He’s got some wild horse characteristics to him right now; he’s got a lot of horsepower right now. I thought his second inning was really good -- he fired off four or five fastballs in a row to Giancarlo, and I felt like … he got better from there. And Carlos looks really good, especially from the feedback from everybody else. He’s just settling into his velocity, and his stuff looks really good.”

The other hitters to face Cole, Rodón and Severino included Josh Donaldson, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, Harrison Bader and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. LeMahieu largely agreed with Cole’s take, saying that the arms have looked impressive so far in camp.

“Just looking at our pitching on paper, I think it’s the best since I’ve been here,” LeMahieu said. “I think I said that last year, and I think it’s even better this year. I’m really excited about that. I’m really excited about this year and our team. I think the front office did a really good job getting the pieces we needed.”

True blue
The Yankees called upon a Triple-A umpire to call balls and strikes behind home plate during Wednesday’s workout, with the intent of helping hitters and pitchers adjust to the new pitch timer. LeMahieu was flagged for a violation on the first pitch of his at-bat, but it was otherwise seamless.

“I’m thankful for that, where he could really give a true ball-strike count and work the mechanics of the clock, allowing people to ask questions in real time as stuff is happening,” Boone said.

Boone said that he has been drumming the rule changes into the hitters’ heads early in camp, believing that the early returns have been a success.

“For example, Rizz tends to look down even when he’s kind of ready, even as he’s getting set,” Boone said. “So knowing when he’s got to be attentive, those kinds of questions that pop up are nice. So far, I think guys are definitely aware of it. Our pitchers are aware of it. There’s probably a handful of pitches where they feel a bit rushed, but I feel like they’re doing a really good job taking ownership of it.”

King things
Michael King tossed two innings against live competition on Wednesday, his third time facing hitters since recovering from a fractured right elbow. The right-hander expects to have plenty of time to be ready for Opening Day, saying that an aggressive offseason program swelled his confidence.

“Two weeks before I started throwing, I was begging to get back out there to throw,” King said. “I knew that I was ready to go. I definitely had the bad days where I had no range of motion and was like, ‘Am I ever going to get this back?’ All the physical trainers were like, ‘It will come.’ My first day of throwing, I was throwing a lacrosse ball at the bottom of the wall, getting yelled at by the training staff because I wasn’t allowed to do that. But just doing those random things made it so I knew I’d be fine coming back."

He said it
“[After hitting 59 homers in 2017], I tried to remember everything I ate, everything I watched, everything I did to try to replicate it. You just make sure you stay focused and not live in the past. You understand this is a new year and a new approach from opposing teams. You just be ready to adjust every week, every at-bat, like we need to.” -- Stanton, on his advice for Judge following a 62-homer season