SAN FRANCISCO – Triple-digit velocity tends to dominate the conversation, which is what happened when Carlos Lagrange announced his presence in Yankees camp this spring.
Even the veterans took notice. Gerrit Cole called the right-hander’s heat “silly,” saying he’d “never seen anything like it.” Austin Wells voiced certainty that Lagrange could help the big league squad “right now,” and Max Fried said he expects that the 22-year-old will “definitely impact this team.”
Lagrange was talked about so frequently throughout February and March that it raised a question: What else are we missing?
So with the season underway, we surveyed the Yankees’ catchers – plus manager Aaron Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake – with a simple question: “Other than Lagrange’s fastball, what’s one pitch that has made you say, ‘Wow'?”
Their answers might surprise you.
Fernando Cruz (splitter)
The offering that Cruz refers to as his “gift pitch” prompted laughter between Boone and bench coach Brad Ausmus early in 2025, when Boone lamented they hadn’t kept track of the number of awkward, flailing swings.
“I’ve never seen as many good hitters swing at it like they’ve never seen that pitch before,” Boone said. “That always stands out.”
It still does, diving late to pair perfectly with the righty’s fastball. Minor League catcher Ali Sánchez said the pitch handcuffed him the first time they were paired together: “It’s so nasty, bro. The movement, you just don’t know where it’s going.”
“It’s his weapon. It’s the weapon out of the bullpen, to be honest,” Wells said. “He’s an any-situation kind of guy because of that pitch.”
Tim Hill (slider)
Hill’s bread and butter has long been his sinker, but several voices pointed to his slider as an emerging weapon.
“That has been a nice addition,” Blake said. “Hopefully, that gives him a little bit more breathability vs. the righties.”
Minor League catcher Payton Henry said Hill’s slider was the “craziest” pitch he saw all spring.
“Just the sheer movement of it, it just feels like it never stops moving,” Henry said. “I would say that one, just because you don’t get to catch a lot of guys that drop down like that, especially left-handed. I think it’s pretty cool.”
Will Warren (fastball, sweeper)
Warren – who will start Saturday’s series finale against the Giants – credits a strong spring (1.42 ERA in 25 1/3 innings) in part to a shift to the third-base side of the rubber.
J.C. Escarra noticed right away, saying Warren's fastball “is playing different, with more angle to it.” Blake pointed to Warren’s sweeper, which he said has always been a good pitch – and now it’s sharper.
“I think sliding over on the rubber and getting a little more deception has really helped,” Blake said. “It just gives a tougher angle on the right-handed hitter. It’s a little bit harder to see the line to the strike zone and decide strike or ball.”
Angel Chivilli (changeup)
Chivilli’s spring line (a 12.38 ERA in eight innings) doesn’t jump off the page, but Escarra said people are sleeping on Chivilli’s changeup.
“It’s really good,” Escarra said. “I think it’s his best pitch, and he throws 98, too. When he uses that with his hard fastball, I think it’s a great pitch. Off the top of my head, it’s up there with all these other wipeout pitches. When he learns to use his arsenal as a whole, I think the changeup is going to play even more.”
Ryan Weathers (cutter)
Weathers will make his Yankees debut on Monday at Seattle. Here’s something to watch in that start – with two strikes, he’ll likely go to his cutter, which Escarra called “a death pitch.”
“I got to catch him his first game of spring,” Escarra said. “I went to Wells and said, ‘Man, this guy has as good stuff as some of the best pitchers in the league.’ It’s in there. If that guy shows up with those pitches, it’s going to be a nightmare for other teams.”
Carlos Lagrange (fastball, slider, changeup)
Now we return to Lagrange, who won the James P. Dawson Award as the most outstanding rookie in Yankees camp.
“Honestly, you could pick any of the Lagrange pitches,” Blake said. “Whether it’s the 103 mph fastball or the 94 mph slider or the 94 mph changeup – all of those are interesting.”
Wells said he thinks Lagrange’s changeup is better than the fastball, noting: “The movement profile, facing him in live [batting practice] and stuff, it just played super well off the fastball. I swung and missed at it a lot – not that that’s saying a lot.”
But velocity wins the room. So for us mere mortals who will never have the opportunity: What does it feel like to catch 102 mph, anyway?
“It hurts my finger,” Escarra said with a laugh. “If I don’t catch it good, it turns blue with how many times I get hit. You just see a white dot coming at you. The reaction time is different. You’ve really got to be ready.
“So you can’t pick anything but a 103 mph fastball. What pitch could be better than that?”