3 overreactions to first week of Yankees' offensively explosive spring training

The New York Yankees' spring training slate has only just begun, and we don't want to be too bold, but this "Juan Soto" appears to be a primetime player.

Besides Soto and his powerhouse left-handed presence, most of the members of the Yankees' regular lineup have looked Opening Day-ready to begin camp. If Aaron Boone was given a "Bubble Wrap Until the Opener" option this week, he'd probably take it.

Are there a few players fans would like to see more from? Of course. Are there a few pain points that have persisted, year over year? No doubt. Is it fun to watch both Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira doink popups ahead of a crucial year in the bigs? We had no fun! Overall, though, the machine has operated smoothly, and the most important takeaway, at the end of every day, is, "They were or were not healthy."

That being said ... some folks have really popped our eyes already, and their contributions have merited some drastic overreactions. Sorry. It's more fun to have fun.

3 overreactions to Yankees' positive start to spring training

Clarke Schmidt might've been the most impressive Yankees starter

Aaron Boone clarified prior to Schmidt's spring debut on Tuesday that he's felt no need to address the internet's rampant Blake Snell speculation with the right-hander directly, noting that the team's current No. 5 starter is "not human." And, you know what? Good. After all, if Snell signs, it'll be Nestor Cortes Jr. heading to the bullpen rather than Schmidt.

Half-joking.

Schmidt has always been a spring star, nearly stealing a roster spot in 2020 before camp shut down due to the, uh, big pandemic. The results of Schmidt's outing, on Tuesday against the Rays, were fine overall. He allowed a single run across two innings, set up by a deep fly ball Pereira couldn't find. The crispness of the stuff, though, was even better; Schmidt was fully in control, dotting needle eyes and passing the eye test, with both his fastball and tight breaking stuff.

Carlos Rodón has been the talk of camp, and though he unraveled slightly in his second inning of work before Gerrit Cole reminded him to breathe, he escaped without disaster (at an elevated velocity, if not quite the 97 MPH from his recent bullpen sessions). Cortes Jr.'s velocity was a tick or two up, too, and the seven hits he allowed weren't nearly as important as his rubber arm bouncing back the next day. It's early, and while it's true that pitchers are supposed to be ahead of the hitters they're facing, all of the Yankees' starters have shown flashes. Schmidt's have been the most impressive.

Second place, in that department? Will Warren. Oh, you weren't ready for that heater, were you?!