SARASOTA, Fla. — Watching the Yankees’ veteran pitchers in his first week of big league camp, Elmer Rodriguez noticed their presence on the mound and how calm they looked.
Tasked with a notable assignment of his own Friday — starting the Grapefruit League opener against an Orioles lineup full of regulars — the 22-year-old Rodriguez took a page out of their books and continued to show why the Yankees are so high on his future as one of their top pitching prospects.
Rodriguez tossed three shutout innings against the Orioles, flashing his six-pitch arsenal and navigating a nearly full-strength lineup without much issue.
“First inning, the adrenaline was high in the moment,” said Rodriguez, who scattered three singles, struck out one and recorded seven of his nine outs on the ground. “But I was able to channel it and use it to my advantage. I felt like I was executing well and felt good.”
Rodriguez, acquired from the Red Sox last winter in exchange for catcher Carlos Narváez, broke out last season while posting a 2.58 ERA across three levels, with 176 strikeouts in 150 innings.
Depending on which scout you talk to, Rodriguez and Carlos Lagrange are, in some order, the organization’s top minor league arms — Rodriguez with a higher floor as a starter but Lagrange perhaps with a higher ceiling, both with plenty of potential.
And while the stakes are about to get higher for Rodriguez when he goes to pitch for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, the Yankees were still interested to see how he handled Friday’s environment.
“That was pleasantly surprising for Elmer, just because you never know what it’s going to look like the first time you get on the major league mound with a major league lineup up there,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “That’s borderline their ‘A’ lineup there, minus one or two pieces. But to have some poise out there, to control the strike zone, to move some different shapes around and just see that his stuff’s going to play in the zone versus these types of hitters, that was really encouraging.”
Blake described Rodriguez as having “a good, crafty arsenal” that he could use on all hitters.
The right-hander used his sinker most often, sitting 94-97 mph, but also mixed in a changeup, cutter, curveball, slider and four-seam fastball.
“I thought he was great,” catcher Austin Wells said. “He mixed it really well, hit the spots when he needed to and got some big ground balls. … He’s got a lot of really good pitches, got the talent and he’s just got to go do it.”
Rodriguez, who is likely to start the year at Triple-A as long as the Yankees get through camp relatively healthy, indicated that it was at least a somewhat difficult decision whether to leave his first big league spring training for the WBC.
But he has always wanted to represent his country, which he will do in a starting role, and believes he can continue to show the Yankees what he is capable of on an even bigger stage than he would be facing in the Grapefruit League.
“Just trying to use everything to my advantage,” he said. “Get some experience there, learn from guys here, learn from guys there. Having the experience to play there against good competition, just trying to learn as much as I can and get the most experience.
“I feel like it’s probably going to be higher-intensity games. Everybody says it’s like playing in the playoffs.”
It will only add to it that Puerto Rico is serving as a host for pool play, allowing Rodriguez to pitch in his native country.
Before then, Rodriguez passed his first test in big league camp.
“Very much under control,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously running up against a pretty real lineup there. The poise that we continue to see is something you like, even though it’s not that big a deal, but first time in a big league spring training game, kicking off the spring, handled it well.
“I really think he’s got a bright future,” Boone added. “So he’s going to get some run down here.”