The Yankees have another two months before postseason baseball rolls around, giving them plenty of time to figure out some issues currently ongoing in the starting rotation. The team recently pulled Marcus Stroman from his upcoming start due to mechanical issues, giving him a bit of time to revitalize and take a step in the right direction.
The Yankees need more support, so they promoted Will Warren from Triple-A following Gerrit Cole’s scratch last week against the Philadelphia Phillies. Warren looked solid for the most part, aside from one pitch that resulted in a three-run homer to Austin Hays. Warren endured his second start against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday in Game 2 of a doubleheader.
The Yankees Will Likely Demote Will Warren
Unfortunately, things deteriorated quickly after a swift first inning that primed him for a good day. The Yankees lost 8–2, and Warren gave up all eight runs. The Angels put up a six-spot in the second inning due to a bases-loaded jam with nobody out.
Zach Neto launched a grand slam to left-center field, putting the Yankees in the losing category before things even got started. The bullpen looked solid for the most part, but the Yankees were forced to churn through some relief pitchers just to get out of the contest, with Warren only tossing 4.1 innings, tossing 93 pitches with 55 strikes.
Warren has the quality to be a great starter in the future, but he still needs a bit of development. He utilizes a four-seam fastball, sweeper, sinker, and change-up. His four-seamer averages 93.4 mph, and it was easily his best-hit pitch, hosting a .000 batting average against. Unfortunately, it was his secondary pitches that let him down. Batters hit .500 against his sinker, which he threw 24.7% of the time. His sweeper, which he throws 27.4%, hosts a .300 batting average.
- Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm begs superstar outfielder to return in free agency
- The Yankees didn’t just lose the World Series; they beat themselves
- Stats show how rare and gut-wrenching the Yankees’ World Series meltdown was
Promising Stuff But Unlucky Execution
In the end, Warren saw some positives but certainly some negatives throughout his first two starts. He did feature an impressive high fastball that regularly created chases from opposing batters. However, he just needs more experience and time to build confidence, which unfortunately does lend itself to a demotion in the near term.