Yankees' Elite 6-foot-7 Pitching Prospect Comes With Glaring Red Flags

The New York Yankees have a wealth of impressive pitchers in their farm system, but perhaps none are more intriguing than Carlos Lagrange.

Lagrange is viewed by many as the Yankees' top pitching prospect and is coming off of a 2025 campaign in which he logged a 3.53 ERA while allowing just 82 hits and racking up 168 strikeouts over 120 innings of work.

The 22-year-old stands 6-foot-7, weighs 250 pounds and has touched 103 mph with his fastball. So, yeah; he is very unique.

Pitching coach Matt Blake recently stated that Lagrange was actually further along in his development than Cam Schlittler was at the end of 2024, and let's remember that Schlittler made his big-league debut last season.

Lagrange was also ranked 79th on MLB.com's most recent top 100 prospects list.

However, the titanic right-hander features one massive red flag: command.

While Lagrange showed improvement with his control in 2025, he still walked 4.7 batters per nine innings, which made for a rather pedestrian 1.200 WHIP in spite of surrendering just 6.2 hits per nine frames.

Lagrange owns a lifetime 5.2 BB/9 in the minor leagues, which could obviously cause significant problems in the majors. It's also why he lays claim to a career 4.05 ERA in spite of a 5.8 H/9 since entering New York's system in 2022.

So is Lagrange really ready to hit the big leagues in spite of still having such a glaring issue? It's a tough one, for sure.

We have seen it plenty of times in the past: pitchers with nasty stuff who just can't seem to find the strike zone, and it results in them flaming out early.

Will Lagrange suffer the same fate?

The fireballer definitely makes for an uncomfortable at bat given his frame and his tendency to miss with his pitches. No one wants to get plunked with a 103 mph heater. And his filthy slider does a tremendous job of keeping batters off balance.

But once you hit the major-league level, hitters will learn to adjust, and that subpar control could end up dooming Lagrange in the end.

The Yankees almost certainly won't be calling Lagrange up to show until he can get his command under control. If he demonstrates continued improvement in that area, he might have a chance to make his debut sooner than we think.

If not? Then Lagrange's future will be in serious question.

Yankees Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Yankees. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.