Call it a successful first test of bringing Carlos Lagrange in out of the bullpen.
The Yankees' No. 4 prospect dialed up his heater to 101.4 mph during a dominant debut in relief en route to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 6-3 win over Syracuse in a doubleheader opener at NBT Bank Stadium.
The flamethrowing right-hander struck out seven across four scoreless frames, giving up one hit and two walks during his 62-pitch outing. He was rewarded with his first victory of the season after going winless in 11 starts for the RailRiders.
The relief outing was just the fifth in 68 pro appearances for Lagrange, who had not come out of the bullpen since last July 13 at Double-A. MLB's No. 75 prospect didn't pitch too shabbily in that effort either, spinning five hitless frames for Somerset.
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It took Lagrange an inning to settle in after taking over in the bottom of the second inning. He opened the frame by blowing away Ryan Clifford (NYM No. 3) on a 98.4 mph fastball, then issued a walk and hit a batter. Lagrange escaped by striking out the next two, and after issuing a one-out walk in the third, he found his groove.
The 23-year-old set down six of the last seven he faced, allowing just a single -- which he quickly erased on a successful pickoff at first. Lagrange hit triple digits three times during his outing, a relatively low amount for someone who has tossed 15 of the 25 hardest pitches at Triple-A this season, according to Statcast.
That all three offerings -- coming in at 101.4, 100.2 and 100 mph -- occurred in his final frame was both noteworthy and impressive for Lagrange, who has been working on his command issues.
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Despite solid overall numbers in his 11 starts -- a 4.41 ERA and 63 K's in 45 innings -- Lagrange averaged five walks per nine, limiting his ability to pitch deep consistently.
But that fastball and its swing-and-miss tendencies are so tantalizing, the Yankees understand his potential impact on the club in 2026. Having seen him firsthand during Spring Training, the Dominican Republic native already has quite the fan club.
“It’s electric stuff,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com. “The exciting thing for me was, really being around him for the first time, seeing the person and the competitor. How he works. You love to see a young guy go out there and perform and do well and relish the competition."
While the Yankees may still view Lagrange as a starter in the long term, his penchant for throwing hard, generating strikeouts and shutting down opposing offenses in short spurts was put to the test on Wednesday.
Needless to say, he passed with flying colors.