It’s looking like all five starters in the rotation will be featured on the Yankees’ playoff roster, but who will go to the bullpen is yet to be determined.
You could make the case for Cam Schlittler as the Game 3 starter, but some might argue in a series against Boston you’d roll with Luis Gil, who has traditionally done well against them.
The Yankees obviously know that Max Fried will go in Game 1 and Carlos Rodon in Game 2, but it leaves Will Warren as an obvious bullpen candidate.
He’s slated to start on Thursday if you look at the rotation cycle, but the team has yet to announce a starter for that day, which could hint at some experimenting.
Could the Yankees, who have just six games left until the year ends, begin utilizing Will Warren in a bullpen role to try and get him comfortable out of the bullpen ahead of October?
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Why Will Warren Could Help the Yankees’ Bullpen Issues
Barring injury, I would bet against Will Warren making a start for the Yankees in their upcoming playoff run, but I would be stunned if they left him off the roster.
Their bullpen has been a disaster all season, and finding reliable innings has been difficult with a group that has seen key names get hot or go very cold.
I believe that Warren could aid a group that has a ton of uncertainty, and if he could dial up the fastball a bit in a reduced role, the team could be impossible to beat.
One area where it could help is with fastball velocity, as if Will Warren doesn’t have to pitch as many innings in an appearance, he could increase his effort per throw to get the best results.
Everyone knows a harder fastball will perform better than a slower fastball with the same shape, but the dramatic difference in performance at the 94 MPH threshold is interesting.
Will Warren currently sits at 93.3 MPH, if he can see a 1 MPH increase in fastball velocity, it could make that pitch extremely difficult for hitters to handle.
His numbers in the first inning are largely skewed by bad outings against the Dodgers and Blue Jays alongside ridiculously poor luck in Fenway recently.
When pitching first time through the order, Warren has a 3.93 ERA and 3.31 FIP, striking out over 27.4% of batters faced on the season.
The comparison has always been to Michael King, who also was demoted from a starter to a reliever during the 2021 season and became one of the most valued weapons on the team.
Getting Warren reps in a reliever role before the postseason rolls around is a must, they cannot expect him to adapt to the role quickly in a postseason environment.
It’s a different routine, one that he may not be ready for at the moment, but getting some regular season reps against lower-level offenses could be a confidence boost.
He has the command and movement to excel in said role, and the velocity boost might serve as the catalyst for a big-time surge in the team’s biggest games.
As a multi-inning weapon Will Warren could be dangerous, and with the Yankees not using Ryan Yarbrough all weekend despite having multiple leads of five or more runs is something to keep an eye on.
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