Right now, the New York Yankees arguably have the most homegrown, young talent that they’ve had in over a decade. Ben Rice, Cam Schlittler, and Jasson Dominguez may be the most popular of the bunch, but there is one starter whose value has flown under the radar: rookie pitcher Will Warren, who started 33 games for the Yankees this past season. That total was tied with Carlos Rodón for the most on the team. His 4.44 ERA, on the other hand, is frankly not very good, but he still showed plenty of encouraging signs that point to his potential of becoming an elite major league starter.
Though he was a mainstay in the rotation last year, Warren will have a tough time keeping his spot on a roster that includes Gerrit Cole, Rodón, Max Fried, Luis Gil, and Schlittler. Not to mention, Clarke Schmidt could return about halfway through the season. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for Warren, especially since his fellow rookie in Schlittler completely outshone him towards the end of the season. Even if one or two of New York’s starters sustain an injury, Warren will still have a tough time earning his spot back, though it is definitely possible based on what we saw from him last season.
Will Warren Looking to Take a Step Forward Next Season
Promising Signs
To start with the good, Warren’s fastball is already incredible; Baseball Savant puts it in the 95th percentile of all MLB pitchers in 2025, and it got him a lot of strikeouts (171 to be exact, good for 16th in the American League). He relied on it heavily last season, throwing it 41% of the time, which is not atypical for a rookie starter. What is atypical, however, is how opponents hit just .216 against it, despite its average velocity of 93.3 mph. His ground ball percentage is also solid, sitting at 42.8, which is very good considering that he is a rookie who throws fastballs almost two-thirds of the time.
Lots of Cons
Unfortunately, there were also a lot of negatives in Warren’s first full season. To start, opponents hit his offspeed stuff like they were taking batting practice. He allowed 10 of his 22 homers on breaking pitches, despite throwing them just 37% of the time. Opponents also slugged .569 off his sweeper, his primary breaking ball, with Baseball Savant placing his breaking stuff in the 1st percentile out of all pitchers in 2025.
Warren also walks his fair share of batters, handing out 65 free passes, which was the 14th most in MLB. To condense it, he just wasn’t able to finish off a lot of batters because he couldn’t rely on his secondary pitches. Getting ahead with the fastball only gets you so far, so Warren will have to prioritize improving his offspeed pitches in the offseason.
Tough Gig
Every rookie struggles with something, especially young pitchers, but for Warren, the question is not whether he can improve next year; it is whether he can improve enough to earn a spot in a tough Yankees rotation. With a full year of experience under his belt and visible improvement as his rookie year progressed, it would not be a total shock if Warren cemented his place in the rotation not just in 2026, but for years to come.
Main Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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