Getty
Ryan Weathers is already in midseason form.
The New York Yankees made a splash in the offseason when they traded for Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins. The price was hefty, but Brian Cashman and the Yankees were willing to pay it for the left-hander. Weathers recently threw his first live session of spring training, and it all but confirmed the trade was well worth it for New York.
All teams are starting to get their pitchers off the mound against live hitters for the first time this spring. Spring training games start in less than one week, and that should not be the first time a pitcher faces a hitter, or vice versa.
With that said, Weathers looked awesome in his inning of work. A video from Bryan Hoch of MLB.com shows the lefty striking out Paul Goldschmidt.
Ryan Weathers’ Impressive First Live Session
GettyRyan Weathers sat 97 mph in his first live session.
Weathers faced more than just Goldschmidt during his live session on Sunday morning. But the at-bat against the veteran leader seemed to show Weathers being in midseason form.
In the at-bat against Goldy, the 26-year-old attacked with fastballs at the bottom of the zone. He also mixed in a few offspeed pitches, including some impressive-looking sliders/sweepers. The at-bat ended with a ‘sword’ on a high fastball.
The best part of the session was the velocity from the Weathers. Per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Weathers was sitting 97 mph, and even ran a fastball up to 98.5 mph.
Ryan Weathers was sitting 97 with his fastball, touched 98.5 mph
It is important to remember that it is still February 15th. Pitchers do not normally throw as hard in these early bullpen sessions. But Weathers was throwing as hard as he ever has.
According to Baseball Savant, the former first-round pick averaged 96.8 mph on his fastball last season. 2025 was the hardest he has thrown in his career, but he has made steady increases each season. Considering he was sitting 97 on Sunday, it seems he is set to make another velocity increase in 2026.
There are many more bullpen and live sessions to come for Weathers, but he looked great on Sunday.
Yankees Need Weathers Healthy in 2026
GettyRyan Weathers has not thrown 100 innings yet in his career.
Weathers looks to be in midseason form, but injuries will always be a concern for him. He has yet to throw 100 innings in a season. In fact, the most innings he has thrown were during his rookie year in 2021 (94.1 innings).
Last season, Weathers missed a good chunk of the year with arm problems. A lat strain caused him to miss three months. Now, the velocity being as high as it is means he is definitely feeling healthy. However, New York should still proceed with caution, as they will need him to throw a lot this year.
Gerrit Cole is not expected back until May at the earliest, while Carlos Rodon is still building his velocity. Clarke Schmidt is also going to miss a large chunk of 2026 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. With these three starters being injured, Weathers has to step up in the rotation.
He will slot into the third or fourth starting spot, depending on how the Yankees want to build their rotation. With that in mind, New York can not afford to have Weathers get hurt in the early months.
Cam Zunkel Cam Zunkel has been a sports journalist since 2022. He covers the NBA and MLB for Heavy.com. Cam also covers multiple MLB teams for On SI – part of the Sports Illustrated Brand. He is a former collegiate baseball player with two stops in the independent Frontier League. More about Cam Zunkel
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