TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees have plenty of familiar names in camp this spring. Aaron Judge is here. Max Fried is here. Jazz Chisholm Jr. set bold goals on the first day. But the player generating the most raw excitement at George M. Steinbrenner Field might be a 22-year-old who has never thrown a pitch above Double-A.
His name is Carlos Lagrange. He stands 6-foot-7, weighs 248 pounds, throws triple digits and has the kind of arm that stops people in their tracks. Just days into his first big-league spring training, the right-hander from the Dominican Republic is already the most talked-about pitcher in camp.
A $10,000 signing who now ranks among baseball’s top 100 prospects
Lagrange’s journey to this point is remarkable. The Yankees signed him as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in February 2022 for just $10,000. That is not a typo. In a world where top international amateurs command seven-figure bonuses, Lagrange was a lottery ticket at the bottom of the receipt.
A back injury wiped out most of his 2024 season, limiting him to just 21 innings in the regular season and five outings in the Arizona Fall League. Many organizations would have shelved their excitement. The Yankees did not.
Last year, Lagrange made good on that patience. He stayed healthy and pitched across High-A and Double-A, posting a 3.53 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 120 innings. At High-A, his command was sharp. He walked just 12 batters in 41 2/3 innings. The step up to Double-A was rougher, with 50 walks in 78 1/3 innings, but the raw stuff never wavered.
MLB Pipeline now ranks him the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect and the No. 79 overall prospect in baseball. Baseball America gave him a 50 grade with extreme risk, acknowledging the electric arsenal but flagging the command concerns that have followed him throughout his career.
Boone invokes Dellin Betances after first bullpen session
Saturday’s bullpen was the moment the hype train shifted into another gear. With manager Aaron Boone standing behind the mound, arms crossed, Lagrange fired pitch after pitch with the kind of velocity and downhill angle that makes scouts pull out their notebooks.
Boone came away impressed and reached for a comparison that will resonate deeply with Yankees fans.
“We’re excited about him, for good reason,” Boone said. “His size obviously stands out. But just the downhill he creates with obviously a huge fastball, really good changeup and then the slider and the sweeper. For him, it’s just a matter of continuing to get better with the command and strike throwing.”
Then came the name that sent the fanbase into a frenzy.
“I think back to when Dellin was at his best,” Boone said. “Dellin was taller and even a little different, but when he was on, you’d just see some consistently really bad swings against him. So I think Carlos has a very bright future.”
That is high praise. Dellin Betances was a four-time All-Star who dominated the middle innings for the Yankees from 2014 to 2018, striking out 607 batters in 381 2/3 relief innings during that stretch. His combination of size, velocity and vertical break made him virtually unhittable at his peak.
Boone also praised the intangibles that set Lagrange apart from the typical young arm passing through camp.
“On top of it, just one of those kids over there that you get really great makeup reports on. He’s a leader, takes initiative. He’s got a lot of the intangibles as well as obviously a ton of talent.”
Cashman hints at a bullpen fast track to the Bronx
The Yankees want to develop Lagrange as a starter long term. Some scouts are not convinced that will work, given the command profile and the long levers of his massive frame. Baseball America noted that scouts nearly universally believe his future is in the bullpen, where the stuff could play as a dominant late-inning weapon or even a closer.
General manager Brian Cashman has mentioned Lagrange by name multiple times this offseason when discussing the pitching depth that could help fill the Yankees’ bullpen. Asked directly whether he would be comfortable with Lagrange or fellow top prospect Elmer Rodriguez pitching in a relief role this season, Cashman did not shut the door.
“It’s easy to always say you want to keep guys staying in the starting rotation and stay on their turn and be depth and continue their journey to build innings as they’re developing,” Cashman said. “But at the same time, you got to rob Peter to pay Paul at times and do that balancing act where you got to service the major league club. A lot of major league starters historically break in out of the pen, too, when they get their feet wet.”
The timing could work. The Yankees open the season without Gerrit Cole, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and without Carlos Rodon, who had offseason elbow surgery. The bullpen has open spots, and Lagrange’s stuff is ready for the big leagues even if his command needs polish.
Lagrange keeps the message simple
For all the buzz swirling around him, Lagrange has kept a calm approach. He said he is already learning from training alongside veterans like Max Fried. He has leaned into a leadership role among the younger pitchers in camp, sharing what has worked for him as he climbed through the system.
“I want to show I can compete,” Lagrange said. “Try to help my teammates and the team, do whatever they want.”
It is a measured answer from a young man generating unmeasured excitement. The fastball touches 102. The slider bites. The sweeper dives. The changeup flashes above average. At 6-foot-7 with that kind of arsenal, the visual alone is enough to turn a routine bullpen session into appointment viewing.
Spring training is long. Lagrange will face live hitters soon, and that is where the real evaluation begins. But the early returns have the Yankees feeling like their $10,000 investment could pay dividends far sooner than anyone expected.
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