Volpe, Schmidt impress in spring debuts

Yankees sweep splitsquad games against Blue Jays, Braves

Let the games begin.

Day 2 of Yankees’ spring training featured their newly appointed captain Aaron Judge making his debut and various position battles kicking into high gear.

The Bombers opened up at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. with a 7-0 victory over the Braves while the second half of the split-squad traveled to Dunedin, Fla. to grab a 9-5 win against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Some of the Yanks veterans showed signs of knocking off offseason rust while the hungry prospects eager to earn their pinstripes grinded away.

Shortstop Sunday

The Bombers’ young shortstops were put on full display Sunday afternoon. Anthony Volpe led off for the Yanks in Dunedin against the Blue Jays while Oswald Peraza remained back in Tampa for the club’s home spring opener.

If his first game was any indication, Volpe will not make it easy on the Yankees to send him down to the minors.

The 21-year-old put all of his tools on display as he went 2-4 with a double on the afternoon while adding two stolen bases that both came in the top of the fourth where he stole second and third base.

Peraza had a strong afternoon of his own. The Yanks No. 3 prospect — according to MLB Pipeline — went 1-2 with a walk while making all of the routine plays at shortstop keeping pace with his competition.

Isiah Kiner-falefa made his spring debut Saturday against the Phillies and also had a strong performance going 1-3 with a double.

Schmidt for the fifth

Clarke Schmidt began his bid to become the Yanks’ fifth starter on Sunday afternoon against the Braves.

The 2017 first-round pick is getting his long-awaited opportunity due to Frankie Montas being out until at least the second half of the regular season due to shoulder surgery.

The 27-year-old pitched two shutout frames striking out five of the six batters he faced.

There has been talk of the righthander adding a cutter to his repertoire which he displayed on Sunday.

The pitcher out the University of South Carolina has made just five career starts for the Bombers as he mostly appeared out of the bullpen in 2022.

Schmidt will be competing with Domingo German to become the established fifth starter behind the Bombers’ four All-stars at the top of the rotation.

Veteran checkup

Judge, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Hicks, Jose Trevino and Josh Donaldson were in action on Sunday.

Trevino being the one to lead the bunch with his first-inning grand slam to open up his spring. The backstop’s longball drove in Judge — who went 1-1 with a walk — and Torres — who continued to stay hot after his opener goes 2-2 on the afternoon.

The Boo Birds did indeed fly south for the winter as Hicks was greeted by them during his spring debut.

The 33-year-old went 1-3 with a strikeout as he embarks on a journey to win over Yankee fans and left field.

Donaldson finished the afternoon going 1-2 with a walk.

What’s next?

The Yanks will take on the Tigers at 6:35 p.m. on Monday night.

Luis Severino will take the mound for his spring debut beginning a crucial contract season.