Is Will Warren ready for the Yankees rotation?
Felo Ramos
1/7/2024
Is Will Warren ready for the Yankees rotation?
Will Warren is the number 3 prospect in the Yankees system. The 24-year-old righty was drafted out of Southeastern Louisiana University in the 8th round of the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft. Warren was sent to high-A to start his 2022 season. That is an aggressive assignment for any pitcher coming out of the draft, and Warren excelled. He only made eight starts in High-A, pitching to a 3.60 ERA. After his 8th start, the Yankees were so impressed with Warren they bumped him to AA. That is an incredibly aggressive promotion for any pitcher, much less a former 8th-round pick who could have been more touted coming out of college.
Between 2022 and 2023, Warren put up a respectable line between pitching in Somerset and getting called up in May 2023 to the Yankees Triple-A team, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders. He threw 123.1 innings between the Double and Triple-A. In 21 games with the Railriders, Warren put up quite an impressive line. He posted a 7-4 record with a 3.61 ERA. In 5 appearances in September, Warren pitched his way to International League Pitcher of the Month. He completely dominated the International League by posting a 1-0 record with an ERA of 0.67 in 5 appearances. Three of those appearances were starts.
Warren is touted as one of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects with one of the highest ceilings, stuff-wise around. Warren finished 2023 with the top stuff+ rankings in AAA. Warren has a six-pitch mix. He has a 4-seam fastball ranging from 95 to 98 with elite spin rates that give it that late riding life. His primary fastball is a sinker that ranges from 92-95 and has incredible horizontal movement. He also throws a cutter with impressive lateral movement that tops out at 93. Warren’s best breaking pitch is his double-plus sweeper, which has up to 44 inches of break. It has a late-life and spin rates of over 3,000, which is elite, and comes in at 84-87 MPH. He has an above-average curveball with elite spin rates over 3000 rpms. He also has an improving changeup with elite depth and fade.
What makes Warren so unique is his ability to tunnel all his pitches. That means he throws all those pitches in the same window halfway to the plate, then in the last half of the pitches dart to all different zones. Halfway to the plate, all his pitches look the same. Then, he has six pitches that move in different directions at different velocities. The entire pitch package works together to make him incredibly difficult to hit and help him get deeper in the games. Warren also showed that he could pair down his pitches to his sinker and sweeper and change up to pitch as a multi-inning reliever if needed.
Warren can be a solid mid-rotation starter in any big league rotation, especially the Yankees rotation. Warren’s stuff can translate into a big-league arsenal. Warren has pitched back-to-back seasons with 120 IPs in both the last two seasons, so he is stretched out enough to handle 160 IPs this year if needed. Warren can provide that from day one in a rotation that needs an innings eater. He is more of an immediate option than most Yankees fans realize for the start of the 2024 season.