Random Minor League Notes: 2024 Edition
Dec 20, 2023 21:31:42 GMT -5
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Post by jiminy on Dec 20, 2023 21:31:42 GMT -5
This Yankees pitching prospect poised to fill Brito's void as surprise fifth starter
yanksgoyard.com/posts/this-yankees-pitching-prospect-poised-to-fill-jhony-brito-void-as-surprise-fifth-starter-01hj40yas1k9
Yankees to roll with Will Warren in fifth starter competition in 2024
Fan Graphs
6. Will Warren, SP
Drafted: 8th Round, 2021 from Southeastern Louisiana (NYY)
Age 24.5 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 200 Bat / Thr R / R FV 50
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Cutter Command Sits/Tops
55/55 70/70 40/40 40/50 50/50 45/50 92-95 / 97
Warren yo-yo’d between the bullpen and the rotation at Southeastern Louisiana and went unselected as a true junior in the shortened 2020 draft. He moved into the Lions’ rotation in 2021 and had a great season — 91 IP, 95 K, just 98 baserunners allowed — despite sitting mostly 90-91 mph. The Yankees shut him down for the post-draft period of 2021, and when play began in 2022, Warren had a new breaking ball and much more velocity, which he has sustained across the last two seasons at Somerset and Scranton.
Even though he isn’t on their 40-man roster, Warren is arguably in a better position to crack the Yankees’ 2024 rotation than other pitchers who are. He has a better track record of strike-throwing and recent health than Luis Gil or Clayton Beeter, and should be considered a threat to make the Opening Day rotation. Warren checks every scouting box aside from the one in the “pretty delivery” column. His cross-bodied mechanics and head whack are more violent-looking than is ideal, but Warren has now sustained good stuff across anywhere between 90 and 130 innings in each of the last three years, evidence he can succeed despite this delivery. His repertoire has grown to five useful pitches, with the best two being his heavy sinker, which has periods where it’s parked in the 94-95 mph range, and his sweeper-style slider, which moves similarly to Blake Treinen‘s. These two pitches diverge horizontally in a way that gives hitters fits. Warren’s sweeper garnered swinging strikes at an incredible 20% clip in 2023, and his sinker generated a 67% groundball rate. Warren also has a four-seam variant that he runs up the ladder as a chase pitch, and he has an upper-80s cutter that has become a more useful way to attack lefties than his middling changeup, which has a good bit of movement but is too similar to his sinker’s shape and velocity to be very disruptive. There might be room for growth in the offspeed/changeup realm for Warren yet; some of his best cambios are the ones that cut on him and look more like splitters. A true splitter might give him a dynamic swing-and-miss weapon versus lefties, which he currently lacks. Otherwise, Warren does a little bit of everything. His pitch mix compares closely to Joe Musgrove’s (his command isn’t quite that great) and, similarly, Warren profiles as a big league ready, mid-rotation starter.
yanksgoyard.com/posts/this-yankees-pitching-prospect-poised-to-fill-jhony-brito-void-as-surprise-fifth-starter-01hj40yas1k9
Yankees to roll with Will Warren in fifth starter competition in 2024
Fan Graphs
6. Will Warren, SP
Drafted: 8th Round, 2021 from Southeastern Louisiana (NYY)
Age 24.5 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 200 Bat / Thr R / R FV 50
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Cutter Command Sits/Tops
55/55 70/70 40/40 40/50 50/50 45/50 92-95 / 97
Warren yo-yo’d between the bullpen and the rotation at Southeastern Louisiana and went unselected as a true junior in the shortened 2020 draft. He moved into the Lions’ rotation in 2021 and had a great season — 91 IP, 95 K, just 98 baserunners allowed — despite sitting mostly 90-91 mph. The Yankees shut him down for the post-draft period of 2021, and when play began in 2022, Warren had a new breaking ball and much more velocity, which he has sustained across the last two seasons at Somerset and Scranton.
Even though he isn’t on their 40-man roster, Warren is arguably in a better position to crack the Yankees’ 2024 rotation than other pitchers who are. He has a better track record of strike-throwing and recent health than Luis Gil or Clayton Beeter, and should be considered a threat to make the Opening Day rotation. Warren checks every scouting box aside from the one in the “pretty delivery” column. His cross-bodied mechanics and head whack are more violent-looking than is ideal, but Warren has now sustained good stuff across anywhere between 90 and 130 innings in each of the last three years, evidence he can succeed despite this delivery. His repertoire has grown to five useful pitches, with the best two being his heavy sinker, which has periods where it’s parked in the 94-95 mph range, and his sweeper-style slider, which moves similarly to Blake Treinen‘s. These two pitches diverge horizontally in a way that gives hitters fits. Warren’s sweeper garnered swinging strikes at an incredible 20% clip in 2023, and his sinker generated a 67% groundball rate. Warren also has a four-seam variant that he runs up the ladder as a chase pitch, and he has an upper-80s cutter that has become a more useful way to attack lefties than his middling changeup, which has a good bit of movement but is too similar to his sinker’s shape and velocity to be very disruptive. There might be room for growth in the offspeed/changeup realm for Warren yet; some of his best cambios are the ones that cut on him and look more like splitters. A true splitter might give him a dynamic swing-and-miss weapon versus lefties, which he currently lacks. Otherwise, Warren does a little bit of everything. His pitch mix compares closely to Joe Musgrove’s (his command isn’t quite that great) and, similarly, Warren profiles as a big league ready, mid-rotation starter.
