Brian Cashman and Matt Blake have both done interviews in the last week, and the Yankees‘ farm system came up in both conversations.
The first interview was done by Blake, who was asked about the young pitchers on the way and noted that Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodriguez were further along in their development than Cam Schlittler was after 2024.
It’s a comment that makes your ears perk up a bit; Rodriguez is in Triple-A so that’s not necessarily a shocking revalation, but his view that Lagrange could debut this season is quite fascinating.
His words were amplified by Brian Cashman, who noted the ‘young pups’ on the way when discussing the bullpen and how that group can be effective despite key departures such as Luke Weaver and Devin Williams.
Lagrange has been discussed as more of a reliever or at least someone who might provide more immediate value in that role, and with the 22-year-old having immense upside, could he get a shot to be a high-leverage arm in 2026?
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Carlos Lagrange’s 100 MPH Fastball Could Force the Yankees To Make A Quick Promotion
The simple truth about Carlos Lagrange is that his fastball is one of the best pitches in all of Minor League Baseball, arguably possessing the best hitter among any prospect currently in the game.
He sits around 98 MPH with 18 inches of Induced Vertical Break on that pitch, overpowering hitters at the top of the zone with a pitch that has reached up to 103 MPH in games.
It’s no surprise that a pitcher packing that kind of firepower was able to strike out 33.4% of batters faced this past season, but he was doing all of this as a starting pitcher.
Lagrange’s lone relief appearance of the season came as the follow up for an opener, where he fired five no-hit innings with one walk and seven strikeouts.
With a nasty changeup and two quality slider shapes, Lagrange has all the tools to be a frontline MLB starter, but his command tends sway wildly from inning-to-inning which creates a very real reliever risk.
He has yet to walk under 12% of batters in a single MiLB season, and while he’s shown improvement in the strike-throwing department, he could stagnate in that growth as he faces better competition.
If the Yankees need bullpen support and Carlos Lagrange’s starter outlook is a bit muddied, the team could get him ready for a reliever role at the Major League level.
Imagine a pitcher who sits 98 MPH while averaging 5 IP a start going into a role where he can toss 1-2 IP per appearance instead?
You could see him sit even closer to 100 MPH with plus vertical movement, he’d almost instantly become the team’s nastiest reliever when measuring purely based on their quality of repertoire.
Furthermore he has that power changeup the Yankees have been targeting in the bullpen which he can throw to right-handed batters, something the organization has pushed a bit more on its pitchers with good success.
I do not want the Yankees or management to forgo a reliever acquisition because Carlos Lagrange could hypothetically become a really good reliever to clarify.
My ideal world includes another addition externally that makes this group better, I’ve suggested Justin Wilson for cheap but maybe it’s a trade because they seem to want a Paul Goldschmidt reunion.
If Brian Cashman can find that bullpen upgrade and Lagrange breaks out as a reliever for the team in 2026, this could be an absolutely disgusting pitching staff.
There’s also some value in him pitching in the big leagues since you can always stretch him back out as a starter, the Yankees did this with both Clarke Schmidt and Michael King and I think it worked out well.
Maybe I’m reading the tealeaves incorrectly, but the way Brian Cashman and Matt Blake spoke about Carlos Lagrange tells me a 2026 debut is what they’re forecasting for the 22-year-old right-hander.
I could not be more excited.