TAMPA — As Carlos Lagrange threw a glove-popping bullpen session on Saturday morning, a number of members of the Yankees’ entrance workplace watched with a curious eye.
The group included professional scouting director, Matt Daley; assistant professional scouting director, Adam Charnin-Aker; director of baseball operations, Matt Ferry; vice chairman of baseball operations, Tim Naehring; and director of quantitative evaluation, David Grabiner. A handful of coaches, together with Matt Blake and Preston Claiborne, and Aaron Boone additionally noticed Lagrange, who’s attending his first large league camp at age 22.
The flame-throwing pitching prospect didn’t show the best command, however his fastball, able to hitting triple digits when totally constructed up, sat round 95 mph. The 6-7, 248-pound Dominican righty additionally confirmed off loads of spin.
“We’re enthusiastic about him for good purpose,” Boone mentioned, noting that Lagrange’s measurement and the downhill trajectory of his supply make him an imposing presence on the mound. “I believe Carlos has a really brilliant future.”
Boone isn’t the one one who believes that.
“He thinks like an ace,” mentioned Claiborne, who beforehand labored carefully with Lagrange within the minors. “He prepares like an ace, and that’s what he needs to be.”
#Yankees pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange pumps some gasoline on the finish of this clip. pic.twitter.com/nUlcO7kTLk
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 14, 2026
Lagrange, who didn’t begin enjoying baseball till he was 14, nonetheless has some creating to do earlier than he can obtain such standing, as he has but to pitch at Triple-A. However the consensus top-100 prospect turned heads together with his scintillating stuff in 2025, recording a 3.53 ERA and a 33.4% strikeout fee over 120 innings cut up between Excessive-A and Double-A.
He truly fared higher on the higher degree, posting a 3.22 ERA over 78.1 innings.
With a powerful season within the rearview and the Yankees getting an up-close take a look at Lagrange this spring, he’s already receiving loads of consideration from outdoors the group. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I noticed numerous posts on Instagram and Twitter about me,” Lagrange mentioned. “The followers are excited for me, however my focus is on doing my job and doing my finest.”
Lagrange’s all-business strategy hasn’t gone unnoticed both, because the Yankees have talked up his persona simply as a lot as they’ve his abilities.
“He’s simply a type of children over there that you just simply get actually nice make-up reviews on,” Boone mentioned. “He’s a frontrunner, takes initiative. He’s obtained numerous the intangibles, in addition to a ton of expertise.”
What Boone is seeing in particular person for the primary time is one thing that Claiborne has identified about for some time.
The previous large leaguer recounted how, again in 2024, Lagrange didn’t carry out as much as his personal excessive requirements, totaling 35 walks over 29.2 innings between Rookie ball, Single-A and the Arizona Fall League.
“Issues didn’t go effectively for him,” mentioned Claiborne, the Yankees’ Single-A pitching coach that season. “He wished to get higher at throwing strikes, so he known as us and mentioned, ‘I’m going house for 2 weeks, after which I’m coming to Tampa, and I wish to work on my mechanics.’
“So credit score goes to him. He confirmed up on his personal and on his personal dime. He educated on the [Himes] advanced for a very long time going into the 2025 season. He’s particular, as a result of the child cares. He’s very disciplined, and he’s very devoted.”
Claiborne talked about that minor league pitching coaches Demetre Kokoris and Peter Larson have additionally aided Lagrange, who acquired a measly $10,000 signing bonus as a world free agent in 2022.
Whereas the pitcher’s work ethic helped him decrease his stroll fee from 20% in 2024 to 12.3% in 2025, Lagrange remains to be on the wild aspect. He acknowledged that after his bullpen, stating that his management is his greatest focus this spring regardless of taking delight within the strides he’s already made.
“For him, it’s only a matter of continuous to get higher with the command and strike-throwing,” Boone mentioned.
Boone additionally mentioned that Lagrange reminds him of one other tall, hard-throwing righty: Dellin Betances. It was an intriguing comparability, as the previous Yankee started his professional profession as a starter earlier than changing into one in all baseball’s nastiest relievers from 2014-2018.
There was some hypothesis that Lagrange’s future could possibly be as a reliever, which might let his electrical arsenal play up in bursts. The Yankees, in the meantime, are brief on certain issues of their bullpen proper now.
Might a shift to the pen expedite Lagrange’s large league debut?
Blake, Boone and Brian Cashman have all mentioned, or at the very least hinted, that Lagrange and Elmer Rodríguez, one other highly-touted pitching prospect in camp, might issue into the unsure bullpen. The Yankees wish to hold the 2 on a starter’s routine – and get them some extra minor league seasoning – however Cashman did observe that “numerous main league starters traditionally break in out of the pen once they get their ft moist.”
“It is dependent upon how the competitors is enjoying out. It’s simple to at all times say you wish to hold guys within the beginning rotation,” Cashman added. “However on the identical time, you gotta rob Peter to pay Paul at occasions and try this balancing act the place you gotta service the foremost league membership.”
No matter his position, it’s simple to think about a world the place Lagrange helps the Yankees this season.
Blake has repeatedly mentioned that he, in addition to Rodríguez and Ben Hess, one other prospect, are forward of the place Cam Schlittler was at the moment final yr. Claiborne echoed that sentiment, recalling how Schlittler earned a number of promotions and burst onto the foremost league scene final season after benefiting from his first large league camp.
“He’s made numerous modifications in a brief period of time to warrant being invited to large league camp and showcase himself for us,” Claiborne mentioned of Lagrange. “So long as the event continues, and he continues to throw strikes and be an expert, I can see him impacting or serving to us on the large league degree.”
