Yankees' Lagrange unleashes 102.8 mph heater -- the fastest Triple-A pitch of '26
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If a Carlos Lagrange fastball was measured as a fever, the batter might have to visit a doctor.
The Yankees' No. 2 prospect reached triple digits with his heater 15 times, topping out at 102.8 mph on the hardest-thrown pitch at Triple-A this season. Lagrange's performance overall was equally impressive, he struck out eight over five innings against Syracuse on Tuesday night at PNC Field.
The 22-year-old bested the campaign's previous high of 102.6 mph ... set by himself on April 23.
MLB's No. 62 prospect rebounded from his worst start of the year with arguably his best, allowing one run on three hits and three walks in an old-fashioned pitching duel with Syracuse right-hander Jack Wenninger (NYM No. 5).
Lagrange hasn't surrendered more than two runs in six of his eight starts while striking out 46 in 33 1/3 innings -- good for a 12.4 K/9. Walks (20) have led to higher pitch counts for the right-hander, who needed 90 to get through five frames -- about the only thing holding him back from pure dominance.
Despite that, Lagrange's ability to induce weak contact or miss bats altogether has drawn interest around the Yankees and baseball pundits in general. The Dominican Republic native seemed to grow stronger as his night went along -- another good sign.
Lagrange recorded half of his K's over his final two frames, striking out three in the fifth while still pushing past the 100-mph mark three different times, including his second-hardest pitch of the night (102.2).
Entering Tuesday's start, Lagrange had notched 13 of the top 25 fastest recorded pitches among Triple-A hurlers in 2026. No pitcher outside of big leaguers Mason Miller (SD), Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) and Edgardo Henriquez (LAD) have thrown a ball harder.
In an interesting twist, only 27 of his 90 pitches (30 percent) were fastballs, despite his ability to pump it past the century mark. Lagrange continued to rely heavily on his slider, throwing it 48 percent of the time, but the fastball is what has generated the most buzz.
Using his immense 6-foot-7, 248-pound frame, Lagrange topped 102 mph twice against Syracuse after reaching rarified air by doing so three times on April 23.
Coupled with Cam Schlittler's early success and fellow Top 100 prospect Elmer Rodríguez (NYY No. 3/MLB No. 65) looking like another keeper, Lagrange may soon give the Yankees yet another homegrown option to add to their roster this year.