The last day of February saw several notable pitchers make their first starts of the spring. Left-handers Jesus Luzardo and Yusei Kikuchi made their first appearances for their respective squads on the 28th. Meanwhile, in Tampa, Gerrit Cole got off to a strong start and changed up his arsenal against the Blue Jays.
Notable hurlers made their 2025 debut
Gerrit Cole struck out five batters against the Blue Jays in 3.1 IP on February 28. Cole sat in the mid-90s with his fastballs (I’ll get into that in a minute). The right-hander threw 46 pitches in the Yankees’ win.
Austin Wells belted a home run and Cody Bellinger notched two hits.
What might have been a more interesting development for Cole was that he used his two-seamer 11 times on February 28. For reference, Cole used a two-seamer just 15 times during the entire 2024 season. The former Cy Young winner netted three whiffs on five swings off the pitch.
Jesus Luzardo made his Phillies debut against the Red Sox, tossing two scoreless frames in Clearwater. Luzardo struck out and netted six total whiffs on the day.
Luzardo was the Phillies’ marquee pickup this past winter, in a deal that saw Philadelphia part with highly-touted shortstop Starlyn Caba and outfielder Emaarion Boyd. The left-hander flashed great stuff when healthy from 2022-24. Injuries limited him to 66.2 IP last season.
Another pitcher who changed homes this winter, Yusei Kikuchi, made his Angels debut at Camelback Ranch on the 28th. Los Angeles signed the lefty, who shined in the second half with Houston, to a multi-year deal in late November.
It didn’t start well, as Kikuchi surrendered a leadoff home run to Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani was also make his 2025 spring debut.
Kikuchi settled down, as he struck out three over 2.2 IP. He picked up five whiffs and sat as high as 96 MPH with his four-seam fastball.
Other tidbits
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki is tentatively set to pitch on Tuesday, in what would be his spring debut. Sasaki will have two weeks to ramp before the Dodgers start the season in Tokyo.
Sasaki is a favorite for the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year Award. Last year’s Rookie of the Year in the AL, Luis Gil, is sidelined with shoulder discomfort. The right-hander is scheduled to undergo an MRI after he cut short a bullpen session because of the problem.
And in World Baseball Classic-related news, the Dominican Republic has reportedly picked Albert Pujols to manage the country’s national team in next March’s tournament.