The numbers speak for themselves: a 0.66 ERA with 13 strikeouts and just six hits allowed in 13.2 innings. But even more impressive is how the towering pitcher has looked on the mound – completely dominant, with a repertoire that appears ready for the Major Leagues.
The 22-year-old right-hander has overpowered both left-handed and right-handed hitters this spring, attacking all four quadrants of the strike zone with an electrifying mix of four pitches.
Lagrange, the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline (No. 79 overall), was reassigned to Minor League camp on Thursday. This isn’t a surprise. the team’s rotation is full and New York has no immediate plans to use him as a reliever, so he’ll head to the Minors to continue developing as a starter.
However, Lagrange could be substantial-league ready whenever the Yankees need him. Here are eight devastating pitches that show why.
While many power pitchers rely on high-spin four-seam fastballs to generate swings and misses at the top of the zone, few can match Lagrange’s velocity. The righty recorded the fastest pitch measured in MLB this spring, dominating Toronto’s Jesús Sánchez with a 102.8 mph fastball on March 11, reaching 103.1 mph in the same game.
Those rising fastballs aren’t just effective up in the zone. That same movement can be devastating down in the zone, where hitters expect the ball to sink out of the strike zone. Here, Lagrange threw a 102.1 mph fastball that stayed down and induced a swing and a miss from Minnesota’s Brooks Lee.
Lagrange’s arsenal includes two distinct breaking pitches: a harder slider with late, short break, and a sweeper with significant horizontal movement. He’s demonstrated this spring that he can locate both pitches effectively against lefties and righties.
The slider he threw to Boston’s Braiden Ward for a strikeout on Wednesday was particularly nasty: a 94.1 mph pitch that finished behind the left-handed batter’s back foot. For context, Jacob Misiorowski, Braxton Ashcraft and Tarik Skubal were the only pitchers to record a strikeout with a slider of at least 94 mph in 2025.
Sweepers typically aren’t as effective against same-handed hitters, as the pitch moves toward the thick part of the bat. But Lagrange hasn’t had any trouble throwing it to lefties this spring, as evidenced by this strikeout of Max Ferguson with a sweeper that caught the corner.
He’s also shown the ability to place his breaking pitches on the outer corner against right-handed hitters, like this sweeper against Kristian Campbell. The batter read the movement and stopped his swing, thinking the ball was going out of the zone, but it touched the corner for a strike.
And, of course, he also has a devastating slider to generate swings and misses outside the zone, like the one he threw to Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers. He followed it up with a sweeper just off the corner for a second strike and finished with a 102 mph fastball up and in for the third. Diabolical.
Lagrange’s changeup has also impressed this spring. In fact, he’s recorded more strikeouts with that pitch (5) than with any other.
Three have been against left-handed hitters, including this one against Boston’s Tsung-Che Cheng. The 92.2 mph pitch had 16.7 inches of arm-side movement, nearly the width of the plate, and looked like a strike before falling out of the zone. By the time it broke, the batter had already started his swing.
The changeup also works against righties, like this one he buried down and in to Detroit’s Jake Rogers for a swinging strike at 92.5 mph.
The Yankees likely don’t want to rush Lagrange to the Majors if it’s not necessary. Even with Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole recovering from injuries, New York has five capable starters.
But if Lagrange continues to pitch like this when the season begins, they may not have a choice but to make room for him on the big-league roster.
When that happens, beware.
