5 Yankees observations from the first week of spring training games

TAMPA, Fla. —  Aaron Judge looks like Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, even as he continues rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, has looked like Gerrit Cole and top pitching prospects Elmer Rodriguez and Carlos Lagrange have appeared worthy of the hype.

Friday afternoon’s game against the Twins made it one week of Grapefruit League contests in the books for the Yankees, with the aforementioned just a small handful of the storylines. There is an endless supply of those in any spring training. The Yankees, and 29 other teams, soon will get a jolt as players participating in the World Baseball Classic are due to leave their camps this weekend.

Here are five observations from the Yankees’ first week of spring training games:

1. Judge’s earlier-than-usual spring training buildup has gone smoothly

Aaron Boone generally has built up Judge gradually in spring training, with the outfielder typically not seeing game action until the second week or so. But with Judge slated to be a full-time player for Team USA, he will play in his fifth game on Saturday. He appears to be running and throwing well; the latter was an issue late last season as Judge recovered from a right elbow flexor strain. Judge, 3-for-8 with a homer in his first four games, will depart Sunday along with 10 teammates heading for the WBC. The others: David Bednar (USA), Paul Goldschmidt (USA), Fernando Cruz (Puerto Rico),  Rodriguez (Puerto Rico), Camilo Doval (Dominican Republic), Amed Rosario (Dominican Republic), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Britain), Brendan Beck (Britain), Jose Caballero (Panama) and Harrison Cohen (Syosset, Cold Spring Harbor High School), who will pitch for Team Israel.

2. Cole is checking all the boxes

The ace righthander, who missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw his second live batting practice Friday, facing Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham. Cole, whose fastball was in the mid-90s, again did not look like a pitcher coming off major surgery, allowing little hard contact. Still, as hiccup-free as Cole’s rehab has gone, nothing has changed about his return date. Given the fickle nature of recovery from Tommy John surgery, the most likely scenario is Cole starting the season on the 60-day injured list, meaning the earliest he could be back would be May 24. All involved would sign for that on the spot.

3. Stanton is on schedule

Despite some outside noise this week suggesting the contrary, the  DH, whose tennis elbow condition prevented him from doing spring training work of any kind last year and kept him sidelined until mid-June, has gone through his  work this year without setback. His elbows require constant maintenance — and there will always be a degree of pain to be dealt with — something Stanton said a year ago and says now. But he began camp able to swing a bat and has done so throughout spring training, including taking live BP regularly, and is set to start playing in games early this coming week, the exact plan laid out from Day 1.

4. Rodriguez and Lagrange have looked the part

It is always worth mentioning at this time of year how mostly meaningless the results are. Both Rodriguez, a 6-3, 160-pound righthander, and Lagrange, a 6-7, 248-pound righty, have pitched well,  but what has rival scouts and talent evaluators most impressed is how comfortable they look on the mound against big-league hitters. “They both look comfortable out there, like they belong,” one American League scout said. “For me, they’re both in that 'tween stage. I don’t think either are quite ready [for the majors], but I also think both have pretty much accomplished all they can in the minors.”

5. Jasson Dominguez is handling his business

The one-time top prospect in the organization — and one of the top prospects in the game — entered spring training in a far different situation from last year. In 2025, Dominguez arrived in camp with the leftfield job  more or less his to lose. This year Dominguez, barring a slew of unforeseen outfield injuries, will start the season in Triple-A. But you wouldn’t know it from watching the 23-year-old switch hitter, a popular member of the clubhouse since his first big-league camp several years ago. He has gone about his work behind the scenes with a smile on his face and has been performing well on the field.

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.