PORT ST. LUCIE — The power has always been there for Ryan Weathers.
Where the hard-throwing lefty has had issues in the past is in pitching effectively and staying healthy.
He was not at his sharpest on Sunday against the Mets, but the 26-year-old, expected to be an important new piece to the rotation, said he’s still getting used to being in game competition at this point in the spring.
For a pitcher who’s never started more than 18 games in a major league season, just staying healthy is key.
“He has immense talent,’’ pitching coach Matt Blake said Sunday. “The biggest thing is supporting him to keep his routine together to help keep him on the field.”
Blake has a good understanding of what kind of potential the 26-year-old has.
Part of Blake’s job when he worked in player development with Cleveland before the Yankees hired him to be their pitching coach prior to the 2020 season was to be involved in the draft process.
It was when Blake was in that role when he first encountered Ryan Weathers, then a top prospect at Loretto High School in Tennessee.
“He was a baseball player, not just a pitcher,’’ Blake said Sunday, before Weathers started at Clover Park. “He had a good feel for the game. And you wouldn’t necessarily think he was a great athlete, you watch him on the mound and he moves really well. He handles himself and has good instincts.”
Aaron Boone talked about the 26-year-old’s athleticism and power.
But the lefty has yet to put it all together in the majors after San Diego made him the No. 7 overall pick in 2018.
“I saw him there and then watched him ascend from San Diego to Miami,’’ Blake said. “It’s hard to know, especially when they come out of high school, what direction they’re gonna go in. You think they can improve their body and throw harder, but it takes a guy to commit to the process. Young guys like that can get chewed up in the minors, but he got up there quickly and has had to go through some ups and downs and fight to stay on the field.”
If that happens, the Yankees believe the results will follow.
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Sunday was not a great example of that, as Weathers was knocked around for six runs — five earned — in two innings over a 59-pitch outing.
He routinely hit 99 mph on the radar gun, but allowed seven hits and a pair of walks as he rushed his delivery, especially with runners on base and when he was trying to finish off at-bats.
“What I didn’t do well, because it’s been so long since I’ve been in that game-type atmosphere where there’s traffic, is I’ve got to do a better job of slowing down and not trying to do too much,” Weathers said.
Boone, who remains confident Weathers can be a “front-line starter,” agreed.
“I think he has a lot of room to grow,’’ the manager said. “These are good situations to be in right now.”
Blake said they are working with Weathers — the son of former Yankees reliever David Weathers — to alter his workout routine in an effort to avoid injuries.
He spent time on the IL with a strained lat and a flexor strain a year ago. The Yankees are counting on more than that.
“He’s really impressed everyone,’’ Aaron Boone said. “His stuff is real. The big thing for him is getting out there and going to the post. I think he’ll do special things. He’s a beast.”
