The Useful Context
The New York Yankees are moving hard-throwing righty Carlos Lagrange to the bullpen in Triple-A, reports the YES Network, and will evaluate whether he can contribute to the big-league team ahead of the trade deadline.
Lagrange, 23, entered the season as the 49th-best prospect in baseball. He's averaging 99.1 mph with his fastball in Triple-A this year and has topped out at 103.1 mph. Per Statcast, Lagrange has thrown 29 of the 50 fastest pitches by a starting pitcher in Triple-A this season.
The scoreboard made the point with less ceremony than everyone around it.
"He's definitely got everyone's attention," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about Lagrange in spring training (via MLB.com). "I love where he's at. I would not be surprised if he is impacting us early, middle, later part of the season."
New York's bullpen has been effective overall, pitching to a 3.59 ERA (tenth in MLB) and 3.44 expected ERA (sixth). But Yankees relievers rank 26th in win probability added, reflecting some blown saves and messy setup situations. They also rank near the bottom of the league in average fastball velocity and swing-and-miss rate.
The Detail Still Doing Work
The numbers entering play Tuesday: a power reliever who can simply blow a fastball past hitters is exactly what this bullpen lacks. Their relief crew largely relies on ground balls and getting hitters to chase breaking balls out of the zone, not being overpowering.
Lagrange has pitched to a 4.41 ERA in 11 starts and 49 innings in Triple-A this season. He's struck out 29.0% of the batters he's faced, comfortably above the 21.1% Triple-A average for starting pitchers. He's also walked 11.5% of the batters he's faced, which is above the 10.3% average. Control remains the biggest question.
If Lagrange does make it to the Bronx as a reliever this season, he would bring needed velocity to a bullpen that ranks near the bottom of the league in average fastball velocity. Even if the transition works, it's unlikely the Yankees would pass on the reliever market at the trade deadline. It could lessen their urgency to add a reliever, but it's doubtful they would consider a young and inexperienced pitcher the solution to their problem.
The Yankees are 36-23 and one game behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. Their plus-98 run differential is the best in the American League by 67 runs.