Who is Yankees RP prospect Carlos Lagrange?

When YES Network analyst Jack Curry broke that the New York Yankees were moving No. 4 prospect Carlos Lagrange to the bullpen down at Triple-A, the announcement seemed only somewhat significant at face value.

Yes, you read that correctly. 103 mph velocity. Add that Lagrange is listed at 6-foot-7, 248 pounds, and the Dellin Betances comparisons are almost automatic. Two tall Dominican dudes who threw absolute gas and struck batters out with ease.

Like Lagrange, Betances came up as a starter before moving to the bullpen for good. And, also like Lagrange, Dellin Betances became a reliever for the same reasons: Trouble with walks.

Carlos Lagrange is 0-3 with a 4.41 ERA in 11 starts in the minors this season. His K/9 are a strong 11.57, but the BB/9 are too high at 4.59. And because of the high walks, Lagrange looks a little rough under the hood too. His xERA, FIP, and xFIP are all north of 4.

Just the same, the Yankees need a reliable high-leverage bullpen arm yesterday. David Bednar has struggled in the closer’s role, though he can point to a .368 BABIP as a culprit and otherwise has strong underlying metrics. Jake Bird can do the same with his .347 BABIP and Brent Headrick too with his .325.

Even usually stellar lefty Tim Hill is down bad, posting a 7.59 ERA since May 2. Fernando Cruz and his deadly splitter look good in most counting and analytical stats, but his Stuff+, Pitching+, and Location+ are all well below 100. Camilo Doval, meanwhile, is doing everything except generating spin on his fastball and racking up Ks.

So where does Lagrange fit into all of this? His scouting report lists his fastball as his primary pitch that he complements with a “sweeping slider,” changeup, and cutter. Sounds like a classic late inning bullpen arm, doesn’t he? The Betances comparison is strong, though the former All-Star paired his heater with a big slow curve.

We should also note that unlike Cruz and Headrick, Carlos Lagrange has a ground ball rate (GB%) above 40%. His is at 43%, to be exact. Even Doval’s GB% is 57.1%, and he’s in the bullpen doghouse.

As it so happens, the Yankees’ bullpen owns the second-best GB% in baseball at 51%, trailing only the San Diego Padres. And even then, by only .1%! Adding someone like Lagrange lets the Yankees improve the roster while already playing to a strength.

A big righty who throws gas, has solid break on his pitches that thus miss a lot of bats, and induces grounders? Imagine how much the GB% can improve if pitching coach Matt Blake helps Lagrange add a power sinker.

Realistically speaking, it seems the Yankees are planning to promote Carlos Lagrange fairly soon, maybe even before the All-Star Break. His high strikeout rate means the Yankee bullpen may be burned by BABIP a little less. It’s not every day that opposing hitters are tasked with getting a hit off of someone who throws 103 mph.

He isn’t Dellin Betances, we can’t have that conversation until Lagrange posts five consecutive seasons of 100 or more strikeouts entirely out of the bullpen. But even then, Carlos Lagrange is the arm the bullpen needs. There isn’t one reliever who simply comes out and just throws hard except for Doval, and he’s off of high-leverage duty.

It’s not a matter of if Carlos Lagrange dons the pinstripes this year, but when.