Yankees Opening Day Notes: Anthony Volpe's improved timing, Carlos Rodon's pitch mix

The Yankees began their 2025 campaign with a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday in The Bronx. Here are some notes from Opening Day including details on Carlos Rodon's start, Anthony Volpe and more...

Anthony Volpe's improved timing

The Yankees' offense has question marks after Juan Soto signed with the Mets in the offseason. Will they score enough runs, especially with all the injuries to the starting rotation?

Thursday, Austin Wells and Volpe helped answer that question -- at least for one game -- as their solo homers powered the offense. Volpe's home run was impressive in that he turned on a 95.4 mph fastball from Freddy Peralta and went opposite field, depositing it 373 feet into right-center field. The blast gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead, and although it was Volpe's only hit -- he finished 1-for-4 with one strikeout -- Aaron Judge is seeing a difference in the young shortstop's approach at the plate.

"His timing. That’s been the biggest thing I’ve noticed since being called up in 2023," Judge explained. "He just has better timing, looks comfortable in the box. When you’re aggressive in the box that’s when you start to take those tough pitches. It just starts by having that mindset of going up there, being confident and taking your swings."

The Yankees will need Volpe, Wells and other youngsters like Jazz Chisholm and Jasson Dominguez to do a bit more this season if the team hopes to make it back to the World Series.

But the Yankees captain is confident the kids will get it done. 

"I'm excited about our young guys and what they’re going to do," he said. "Wells, Volpe, Jazz, Dominguez all those guys are going to be a big part of our success this year and it’s cool to see those guys get off to a good start."

Austin Wells' confidence behind the plate

Wells was always scouted as a bat-first catcher, but last year and this spring has shown he can be a very good defensive catcher and pitch-caller with the rotation.

"To see where he’s at now is to see one of the game’s really good defensive coaches," manager Aaron Boone said. "Ultimately, his ability and his commitment, and the one thing I always noticed, there’s just presence to him. I felt that way about him the first big league camp with us. There’s something about him you notice."

Thursday's starter Carlos Rodon echoed his manager's sentiments about the young backstop. 

"His presence behind the plate, he brings a lot of confidence in who he is," Rodon said. "This is a guy who does his homework this is a guy who spends his time at the ballpark preparing for the game ahead. He’s grown tremendously defensively, as we know. I know it’s one game, but he has a good bat as well."

Wells led off Thursday's game, becoming the first Yankees catcher to do so. He also hit a leadoff homer, making more Yankees history and finishing 1-for-3 with a walk.

Carlos Rodon's pitch mix

Rodon has always been known as a two-pitch pitcher. His "break and butter," as Boone calls it, are his fastball and slider. Well, the southpaw used six different pitches in his Opening Day start and it seemingly worked against a good Brewers team.

The left-hander allowed just one run over 5.1 innings while striking out seven. It was a solid start for a rotation that needs him to be that No. 2 guy behind newly-acquired southpaw Max Fried and with Luis Gil and Gerrit Cole out for long periods of time -- in the case of Cole, the whole season.

Despite that, Boone doesn't think Rodon needs to "step up" when asked about it after the game.

"He was incredibly consistent for us last year. He’s capable of it if not more so," he explained. "I just want him to really focus on his job every single day. Not just the day he pitches, now starts the process of when he gets back out there in six days. If he does that, the results will handle themselves. He has ability. That’s always my message to Carlos, just focus on chopping wood everyday."

So whose idea was for Rodon to throw six pitches? Well, Wells of course.

“Wells was great with the pitch. We get a plan together and I just roll," Rodon said. "There’s not much decision-making on my part. We get into a rhythm, he calls the pitch and I throw. We featured a lot of today and I thought he was great behind the plate." 

"[Rodon's] slider was really good today too. That’s still going to be his calling card, but I think the changeup is really good now," Boone said. "The ability to slow it down with the curveball and then introducing that sinker… He’s capable of doing that and to have real longevity in this game as a pitcher is to be able to evolve and adapt and add and subtract from your arsenal."

Rodon was asked if incorporating these new pitches makes him less predictable, and the 32-year-old said it does.

"The scouting report on me the last few years jas been four-seam’s up in the zone, slider’s below," he said. "The plan as a hitter was to cover the fastball and react to sliders.  The rounding of the repertoire and adding a few other pitches that move different and the change of speeds, it makes it less predictable especially the usage portion of it."