NEW YORK — Antonio Gomez’s eyes lit up. Sam Briend, the New York Yankees’ director of pitching, half-joked with the catching prospect that with an arm as strong as his, the team should try him out on the mound sometime.

“Ohtani?” Gomez playfully replied, referring to Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar.

“Eh,” Briend said, smiling, “I don’t think we can do that.”

Gomez may not get a chance to slug 54 homers in the majors like Ohtani did last season, but the Yankees are giving him a chance to pitch. Less than a month into his transition, he’s already touched 100 mph.

“I think he could be really special,” Briend said.

“The delivery looks like it works,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said. “Anytime you can see that kind of velocity with a delivery that should be somewhat sustainable, it’s interesting.”

The Yankees have excelled at teaching pitching in recent seasons. They hope to do the same with former catcher Antonio Gomez. (Courtesy: Somerset Patriots)

The Yankees made the switch official when they placed Gomez, 23, on the developmental list at Double-A Somerset on June 18 and started a throwing progression that has yielded some impressive bullpen sessions. Briend said the Yankees “absolutely” plan for Gomez to pitch in minor-league games this season.

It didn’t take long for the right-hander to begin sitting between 94-96 mph, occasionally touching 97 mph. In his fourth bullpen session, Gomez asked his coaches if, one time, he could just let it rip.

The radar gun stunned everyone: 100 mph.

“Even guys who throw 100 mph in games — you don’t see them doing that very often in the bullpen,” Briend said.

The Yankees have also been impressed with Gomez’s feel for pitching in these early stages. Briend said the team “really didn’t expect” his command to be as good as it’s been. Of course, despite all the excitement, Gomez’s progress comes with a caveat.

“It’s not the pressure of getting out there and getting in games,” Briend said. “But this kid fills it up. He’s got a really simple, clean, easy delivery. It allows him to sequence and throw hard. We’re not at the point where (he) can move the ball around to quadrants. But (he’s) going to be in the hallway with plus-velocity, which is also kind of a special trait.”

“Really good arm,” Blake said. “Really good athlete. I think what the guys are excited about is the potential upside for a guy like that, who’s got some arm strength and has shown it behind the plate. To have the aptitude back there and then try it out on the mound.”

The Yankees had high hopes for Gomez as a catcher, and he showed promise on both sides of the ball, with The Athletic’s Keith Law ranking him as the organization’s No. 5 prospect going into 2023. His bat seemed to stall, though, and several catchers in the Yankees’ system appeared to surpass him.

The Yankees internally discussed the idea of moving Antonio Gomez to the mound for about three years. (Courtesy: Somerset Patriots)

The Yankees gave Gomez a $600,000 signing bonus out of Venezuela in 2018, betting on his big frame for a catcher (6-feet-2), his power potential and his arm strength. Baseball America called him the best defensive catcher in the Yankees’ system after the 2022 and 2021 seasons, and he had a .748 OPS in 47 games at High-A Hudson Valley in 2024.

But he struck out a lot (career 31.9 percent), and he hit just .140 with no homers and a .393 OPS in 35 games at Double-A Somerset, sharing time behind the plate with Rafael Flores, the Yankees’ 13th-ranked prospect. He finished his time at catcher with one hit over his final 34 at-bats before converting to pitching.

The Yankees had internally discussed the idea of moving Gomez to the mound for about three years, Briend said. It was always clear to them that Gomez’s arm strength was top-notch, but there was more to it. Coaches watched him play catch, and he’d always hit his partner in the chest. When he played long toss, “you knew he could throw it a mile,” Briend said. He displayed a cannon when trying to throw out runners at second base.

“There aren’t glaring hitches or anything like that,” Briend said. “Pretty clean delivery for throwing as hard as he did on flat ground. It was one of those situations where it’s like, ‘Man, this kid looks pretty good throwing as a catcher. Let’s see how that translates to the mound.’

“Everything that he does at his foundation is everything you want a pitcher to do when they’re in practice, in terms of long toss, hitting your partner in the chest and having a clean, simple delivery. Those are things that you think might translate to the mound. Thought it was worth giving him a shot, as we have.”

They’re being careful with Gomez. Another reason they thought he could make the switch was that, as a catcher, he already threw more than any other position player and could be at less risk of getting hurt.

“The volume of throwing was already kind of built,” Briend said. “Now it’s more the skill of pitching.”

The Yankees have excelled at teaching the skill of pitching in recent seasons.

Rookie Will Warren (eighth round, 2021) has become a key member of the rotation this year. Clarke Schmidt (first round, 2017) was also a major part of it this season before Tommy John surgery ended his year. Righty Luis Gil, whom the Yankees acquired while he was still in rookie ball, was the American League Rookie of the Year last year. Cam Schlittler (seventh round, 2022) gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings in a victory Wednesday night in his major-league debut. The Oakland Athletics (JP Sears, Mitch Spence) and the Houston Astros (Hayden Wesneski) both feature recent Yankees draftees in their starting rotations.

“We’re starting to get more starting pitching, which was a knock for a long time,” Briend said. “I’m excited to see these guys take the ball and prove that wrong.”

Will Gomez join them in the majors? Will he wind up as a starter or a reliever? Will the experiment work at all? It may be too soon to tell. For now, though, the Yankees know one thing about Gomez.

“I think he’s got a special arm, for sure,” Briend said.

(Photos of Antonio Gomez courtesy Somerset Patriots)