SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible ¡°Ooh¡± from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he¡¯d just thrown in Saturday¡¯s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles.
It had registered in the triple digits, and the 6-foot-7 Yankees right-hander grinned. That was exactly what he¡¯d hoped to showcase.
¡°This was a really big opportunity for me,¡± Lagrange said through an interpreter. ¡°It meant a lot. It was an opportunity to prove to myself and to everybody else that I¡¯m a good pitcher and that I can throw strikes.¡±
Rated as the Yankees¡¯ No. 19 prospect by MLB Pipeline, the 21-year-old Lagrange¡¯s big arm impressed in a four-inning performance against Baltimore¡¯s top farmhands. He allowed two runs (one earned) and two hits, including Vance Honeycutt¡¯s inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning.
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Lagrange settled in after experiencing first-inning jitters, coming after he permitted a leadoff single to Enrique Bradfield Jr. Lagrange threw errantly on a pickoff attempt down the right-field line, seeing Bradfield advance to third base, then uncorked a wild pitch that sent Bradfield home.
But Lagrange then retired the following 11 batters, two via strikeout, and did not walk any -- which represents an important next step in his development.
He issued 20 walks in 21 innings last season, when he posted a 6.86 ERA in nine games (eight starts) for the Florida Complex League Yankees and Single-A Tampa.
Asked how he recovered following Bradfield¡¯s race around the bases, Lagrange replied: ¡°I just tried to do what I always do -- try to keep the same rhythm going. The same things that we always do when we train in the complex. This is baseball. Things are going to happen.¡±
Signed for $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic in February 2022, Lagrange missed most of last season with back inflammation. He was much sharper in the Arizona Fall League, where he made strides he hopes to carry into the season.
¡°We have a lot of good pitchers in our organization, so when I got the news [about starting the Spring Breakout game], it felt incredible,¡± Lagrange said.
The Vandy boys
There was a Vanderbilt presence to the Spring Breakout game right to the finish, as the Yankees¡¯ Spencer Jones and Greysen Carter posed for photos at home plate with fellow alums Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Patrick Reilly of the Orioles.
A fifth Vandy alum, Bryce Cunningham, was tossing in the bullpen after surrendering Leandro Arias¡¯ walk-off hit. The Yankees¡¯ loss meant Jones (Yanks' No. 3) won¡¯t cash in his friendly wager with Bradfield for a medium-rare steak, but Jones said the experience was still a good time.
¡°Oh dude, it¡¯s awesome when I get to see my former college teammates, especially now in professional baseball,¡± Jones said. ¡°We competed against each other so many times, even at school, so this is the greatest thing ever.¡±
Jones, who went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored, lauded Carter as ¡°one of the strongest people I¡¯ve ever seen in my life in the weight room¡± and said Cunningham (Yanks' No. 6) is ¡°your typical SEC competitor; he¡¯s going to come right after you and throw all his pitches for strikes.¡±
As for Bradfield, who dashed around the bases to score Baltimore¡¯s first run of the night, Jones offered this scouting report: ¡°I think it¡¯s a well-known fact that Enrique Bradfield can run.¡± (Performances like Saturday¡¯s should make that clear to a larger audience.)
An unofficial debut
Ben Hess was the Yankees¡¯ first-round selection (26th overall) in last year¡¯s MLB Draft out of the University of Alabama, and Saturday¡¯s contest marked the 22-year-old¡¯s first time pitching in front of a crowd in a professional uniform.
¡°It was super cool to get to throw in front of fans, seeing another uniform in the box,¡± said Hess, the Yankees' No. 4 prospect. ¡°I would have liked it to go a little better, but it was a great time.¡±
Entering for the fifth inning, Hess retired the first four batters he faced, including a nifty sliding stop by third baseman Jesus Rodriguez that robbed Jud Fabian of a hit.
Hess walked one and struck out three; he was also struck in the left calf by a Bradfield comebacker that led to the Orioles scoring a run in the sixth, saying he¡¯d likely be sore for a couple of days.
Otherwise, Hess said the adjustment from college to pro life has been ¡°really fun,¡± and that his focus for the upcoming season will be on winning games.
¡°I think sometimes that can get a little overlooked going through the development system,¡± Hess said. ¡°First and foremost, I want to get some wins and throw well, [and] make all my starts.¡±