This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Big arms demand attention, which is why Carlos Lagrange was standing on a mound in Sarasota, Fla., back in March, having drawn the starting assignment for the Spring Breakout showcase game against the Orioles’ most promising talent.
The Yankees wanted to showcase one of their best and brightest, and there were audible ‘oohs’ heard in the crowd when Lagrange -- long and lanky with a whip-quick delivery – lit up the radar gun with a 101 mph heater.
It was suggested that he might have picked up a little extra adrenaline, drawing a higher-profile assignment than his previous outings on the chain-linked back fields. Lagrange smiled and shook his head. Nope, that was just what he usually does.
“I feel really good, but I throw [with] this velo always,” Lagrange said that night, later adding this: “I don’t want to describe myself specifically to anybody. I would like for them to watch me pitch and have their own opinion of me.”
It’s becoming a hard invitation to pass up.
Lagrange, who turns 21 later this month, has carried that spring momentum into his first full professional season. Signed for $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, he’s now rated as the Yankees’ No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
In each of his first five starts for High-A Hudson Valley, Lagrange has struck out seven or more batters in each of his first five starts, punching out 41 batters across 25 1/3 innings (14.7 K/9). Most encouraging, his control appears to have improved markedly; Lagrange has issued just seven walks after walking nearly a batter per inning last year.
Across his four most recent outings, including his last outing May 7 at Wilmington when he retired 17 straight batters through one stretch, Lagrange has permitted just five earned runs in 22 1/3 innings (2.01 ERA). He generally sits 96-98 mph with his fastball, topping out around 100 mph, and also features a slider, cutter and changeup.
Though Lagrange is still years away from his projected big league debut, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake has been tracking the progress of several impressive young hurlers down on the farm. Blake highlighted Lagrange, Ben Hess and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz among the lower-level talent that has earned attention.
“Anytime you can put together a collection of talent [where] they can kind of push each other and obviously develop, it’s great,” Blake said. “Our depth’s been depleted a little bit with some trades over the past few years, so to see these guys starting to come on is exciting.”
The Yankees have now squeezed two serviceable spot starts out of soft-tossing Ryan Yarbrough, whose place on the Opening Day roster was initially envisioned as a long or bulk reliever.
Should they need to promote a Minor Leaguer to fill the No. 5 starter’s spot (originally occupied by Carlos Carrasco), Allan Winans would be the likely next choice at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
But of the power arms in the system, Blake said Cam Schlittler would “be the closest” of a group that also includes Bryce Cunningham, Greysen Carter and Cade Smith. The Yanks saw Schlittler during Spring Training, and the tall right-hander impressed.
A seventh-round pick from Northeastern in the 2022 MLB Draft, he’s currently rated as the club’s No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Beginning the year with Double-A Somerset, the 24-year-old Schlittler has pitched to a 2.18 ERA in six games (five starts), fanning 36 batters in 33 innings. He sits 93-96 mph with his heater, peaking at 98 mph. Schlittler’s repertoire includes a curveball, slider and changeup.
“I had some good stuff last year and I was able to show that at the lower levels,” Schlittler said this spring. “Now facing some better hitters, I’m just trying to fine-tune the pitches and work on some orientation stuff. I think I’ve made them happy with what I’ve worked on and some of the results I’ve gotten.”