Yankees top pitching prospect (No.2), right-handed pitcher Carlos Lagrange, will make his Grapefruit League debut this Saturday, February 21st, at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa versus the Detroit Tigers, according to Yankees Newsday Beat Writer Erik Boland.
Lagrange (just 22 years old) is a hard-throwing reliever/starter in the Yankees system whose fastball tops out at an astounding 103 mph. Lagrange, who faced Yankees Captain and AL MVP Aaron Judge yesterday in live BP’s, struck out Judge on a 102.6 mph fastball, but then surrendered a home run to Judge off a 99.3 mph fastball in one of the at-bats previously.
Lagrange Receives High Praise From The Yankees Captain
Judge had high praise for the 22-year-old flamethrower following the live BP session, in which Judge said, “He is going to be special.” Judge followed that up by mentioning his high velocity, topping out at 103 mph, but also commended his presence/attitude on the mound, stating, “but I think it’s also just his presence on the mound. We sent up a nasty lineup today, and he didn’t care. He wanted to be out there, and came right after us”, stated Judge.
Lagrange has notably had some control issues with his command in prior seasons, in which he posted a 3.53 ERA last season between High A and Double A, where he started out the 2025 season in High A and struggled posting a 4.10 ERA, but then after being promoted to Double A showed improvement, posting a 3.22 ERA with 104 strikeouts across 78.1 innings pitched.
Lagrange throws predominantly two pitches, a four-seam fastball and a slider, which he relies on most heavily, per Baseball Savant. Still, he also occasionally uses a sinker, change-up, and cutter in his pitching repertoire as well, according to Baseball Savant. Lagrange’s future role with the Yankees is a bit uncertain, whether that means coming out of the bullpen as a high-end reliever/closer or as a starter.
For now, Lagrange will need to keep making strides in improving his overall command and walk rate if he wants to be a starter in the Yankees’ rotation sometime down the line, either in 2026 or perhaps 2027. Regardless, it’s undeniable that Lagrange’s arm talent is off the charts, and similar to what the Yankees once had in reliever Dellin Betances, who was also a big pitcher who reached triple digits consistently throughout his Yankees tenure from 2011 to 2019.
Lagrange Mirrors a Young Dellin Betances
The Yankees may see another Betances-like caliber reliever in their bullpen in 2026 or sometime within the next couple of years. For Lagrange, who’s already impressed this camp against the Yankees’ best hitter, will have the opportunity to impress further this upcoming Saturday as he faces a young and up-and-coming Detroit team that made the playoffs in back-to-back years (2024, 2025) for the first time since 2014.
The Yankees’ biggest question mark heading into the 2026 season is their bullpen. They’ve made some additions in terms of Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest and a trade for Rockies reliever Angel Chivilli; both players show upside, but also need to prove they can be reliable assets in the bullpen.
Lagrange could maybe be one of those guys who answers more of their bullpen questions heading into the 2026 season.
Yankees Top Pitching Prospect Will Make His Spring Training Debut Saturday