Ryan Weathers dazzling in Yankees debut leaves one obstacle to overcome

When the New York Yankees acquired Ryan Weathers, we knew the club was gambling on an arm with electric stuff. What we weren't sure about was whether or not he'd be able to put that all together consistently.

Weathers showed up in camp and immediately impressed. However, as he pumped in fastballs that exceeded his already sizzling 96.8 miles per hour average velocity, there was some concern.

In parts of five major league seasons, the 26-year-old has tallied a total of 281 innings for an average of just 56 2/3 innings per season. Two lengthy IL stints held him to just 38 1/3 frames last season, and he's never topped 95 innings in a single campaign.

We got to see Weathers take the mound in game action this spring on Wednesday, and the performance left our heads spinning. With that said, a crucial question remains unanswered.

Ryan Weather's first spring training outing was more dominant than Yankees fans could imagine, but a key 2026 question looms

Weathers fired 49 pitches over 3 2/3 innings against the Washington Nationals, striking out five while giving up just one hit and no walks. He registered the five fastest pitches of the night, while touching 100 miles per hour on a couple of them (a career high).

The former first-round pick isn't your traditional soft-tossing southpaw, and the fireballing lefty has more than just the heater in his bag of tricks. Weathers possesses five pitches — a four-seamer, a sinker, a frisbee-like sweeper, a tighter slider, and a changeup for good measure — and each one was dazzling.

Per Pitch Profiler on Twitter/X, all five offerings graded out as 60-plus pitches, meaning they are absolutely elite. He used all of them to slice and dice the Nationals' lineup.

We knew Weathers had good stuff. We might not have believed that it would look this good this early, though. But as exciting as it is, this is nothing new for him. He's had dazzling outings in the past. He claims that throwing at such high velocities at the start of the spring, instead of needing a ramp-up period like most hurlers, is the norm for him.

But what we don't know is whether or not he can maintain this level of dominance and stay healthy while carrying a starter's workload at the same time. His healthy and consistency are the biggest question marks. His talent and upside was never in doubt.

All of that is also why his ultimate role in 2026 is still something of a mystery. Once Carlos Rodón returns to the rotation, and assuming none of the other starters go down, the Yankees will have a full boat. With more starters than slots, we don't know who the odd man out will be, and with Weathers' durability questions, we're not sure if he gets bumped to the bullpen to try his hand at a high-leverage role.

It will take a long time for the answers to come into focus. In the meantime, all we can do is enjoy the ride and hope for good health.