Yankees prospect and hard-throwing reliever Carlos Lagrange made his return today in Triple-A for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. In his first appearance back from injury, he pitched one scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two batters.
Lagrange threw “seven fastballs with an average velocity of 100.3 mph”, according to a tweet from senior writer Conor Foley of the YES Network. His fastball topped out at 102 mph, Foley tweeted. Lagrange was originally activated to Triple-A earlier today, according to Yankees beat writer Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News Sports in a tweet.
Lagrange Returns From Shoulder Injury
Lagrange had a right shoulder sprain that he was diagnosed with in July and has been rehabbing from ever since. Lagrange started a throwing program on August 18th and most recently, before today’s outing, threw a BP session on September 4th, according to Yahoo Sports. Lagrange, who stands at an imposing 6’7 248 lbs, is listed as the Yankees’ No.4 overall prospect, according to MLB’s prospects list. He is currently the Yankees’ second-best pitching prospect, behind Elmer Rodriguez, their No. 3 overall prospect.
The 23-year-old Lagrange throws a blazing fastball that has resulted in several discussions already this year about whether or not he could be a factor in the Yankees’ bullpen down the stretch, but this was, of course, before he injured his shoulder. Lagrange also throws a slider, cutter, and changeup. Lagrange in 19 games this year at Triple-A is 1-4 with a 4.48 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched.
Generating swing-and-miss has not been an issue for Lagrange; it’s been throwing consistent strikes and limiting walks. Lagrange’s profile, however, has led to comparisons to former Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, who, like Lagrange, had a 100+ mph fastball and a big presence on the mound, standing 6’8″ and weighing 265 lbs.
Lagrange Could Have Bright Future In Yankees Bullpen
It’s unclear whether Lagrange will pitch for the Yankees in 2026, given he just returned from this injury and his Triple-A numbers in 2026 don’t reflect the development expected. But he’s definitely a name to keep an eye on in the foreseeable future as it relates to the Yankees’ pitching development pipeline.
The Yankees have just ten regular-season games remaining as they travel to Arizona before returning home for their final seven games of the season between Baltimore and Tampa. They also just added a bullpen reinforcement in Clarke Schmidt, who was previously a starting pitcher but converted to a bullpen arm as he made his return from Tommy John Surgery last July.
After an injury that left Lagrange’s season somewhat uncertain for the rest of the way, he is back to showcasing his talents and maybe one day being a big difference-maker out of the Yankees bullpen in the Bronx
Yankees’ Prospect Carlos Lagrange’s Dominant Triple A Return