BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York Yankees sent Carlos Lagrange to the minor leagues two weeks ago. It was one of the toughest decisions of their spring. On Sunday, the 22-year-old right-hander reminded everyone why it was so hard to let him go.
Lagrange fired the fastest pitch of Minor League Baseball’s opening weekend in his Triple-A debut for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He touched 101.3 mph on a fastball to Yohendrick Pinango of the Buffalo Bisons in the first inning. He struck Pinango out to end the frame.
The RailRiders won 5-4 at Sahlen Field. But the final score was secondary. The Yankees’ No. 1 pitching prospect had just picked up exactly where he left off in the Grapefruit League, and the baseball world took notice.
A dominant debut in freezing conditions
The temperature in Buffalo hovered near freezing Sunday. That did not slow down Lagrange. The 6-foot-7, 248-pound Dominican right-hander retired the first five batters he faced and worked four innings. He gave up one run on four hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
He threw 68 pitches, 39 for strikes. For a pitcher whose biggest question mark has been his command, the zero-walk outing was a significant data point.
Lagrange’s 101.3 mph fastball was the hardest pitch recorded across all of MiLB during opening weekend, per MLB Pipeline. It was a statement throw in a season debut that was supposed to be routine. It was anything but.
Spring training set the stage for the Yankees prospect
Lagrange was the story of Yankees spring training. Across five Grapefruit League appearances, he posted a 0.66 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 13.2 innings. He gave up just six hits and walked four. His WHIP sat at 0.73.
He threw the two fastest pitches recorded across all of spring training. A 103.1 mph heater during a hitless outing against the Blue Jays on March 11. And a 102.8 mph fastball in that same game. He averaged 101.5 mph on his fastball in that outing and threw five pitches above 102.
His performance earned him the 2026 James P. Dawson Award, given annually to the most outstanding Yankees rookie in spring training.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake praised the depth of Lagrange’s arsenal during camp.
“Honestly, you could pick any of the Lagrange pitches,” Blake told MLB.com. “Whether it’s the 103 mph fastball or the 94 mph slider or the 94 mph changeup, all of those are interesting.”
The killer mentality that caught the Yankees’ attention
Lagrange’s arm talent has been obvious for years. What stood out this spring was his mindset. YES Network’s Jack Curry reported that after Lagrange allowed 11 stolen bases in four innings during a Double-A start with Somerset last June, the young pitcher told Yankees coaches one thing.
“That’s never happening again.”
He immediately began working on a slide step, cutting his delivery time to the plate from 1.8 seconds to 1.2. That kind of accountability from a 22-year-old is rare. The Yankees noticed.
Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Lagrange nearly made the decision to send him down impossible.
“He made it a difficult decision, which coming into this, I wouldn’t have even thought there was a decision,” Boone said.
Lagrange himself took the assignment in stride.
“Great experience to travel with the team, have fun, see how it is with the big-league club,” Lagrange said. “It leaves you wanting more and it gives you hunger to keep working hard to get to it.”
What the numbers say about the Yankees’ top arm
Lagrange went 11-8 with a 3.53 ERA and 168 strikeouts across 120 innings between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2025. He ranked first in batting average against at .191 among all Yankees minor leaguers. He was second in strikeouts and tied for fifth in WHIP at 1.20.
His fastball earns a 70 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale, the highest possible tier for a pitch. His slider has plus potential. His changeup, which sits in the low 90s, gives him a weapon against left-handed hitters.
The one concern remains his walk rate. He posted a 14.9 percent walk rate at Double-A, the fifth-worst among pitchers who threw at least 70 innings at that level. But his spring training rate dropped to 8.7 percent, and he walked nobody Sunday.
MLB Pipeline ranks Lagrange as the No. 76 overall prospect in baseball and the Yankees’ top pitching prospect.
The path to the Bronx
The Yankees are developing Lagrange as a starter for now. But pitching coach Blake hinted during spring training that a bullpen role could come later in the season if the team needs high-leverage relief. With Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon expected back from the injured list by June, the rotation will eventually be full. Lagrange’s role could shift.
For now, the Yankees want him logging innings in Triple-A. They want to see if his stuff holds up against hitters who chase less and punish mistakes more. Sunday was the first step in that test.
And if the first pitch of that test was clocked at 101.3 mph, the Yankees are feeling just fine about where their top prospect stands.
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