Every spring, Yankees camp gives us a couple of “wait…who is THAT?” moments. This year, one of them is arriving at 6’7”, throwing smoke, and carrying the label of the New York Yankees’ No. 2 ranked prospect. His name? Carlos Lagrange.
And if you’re getting Dellin Betances flashbacks, you’re not alone.
The Comp Everyone Is Whispering
Lagrange, a towering 6’7” right-hander from Bayaguana, Dominican Republic, has quickly climbed the Yankees’ system and now sits near the very top of their prospect rankings heading into 2026.
The physical similarities are impossible to ignore. Betances was listed at 6’8”. Lagrange is 6’7”. Both possess long levers, downhill plane, and the kind of intimidation factor you can’t teach.
And then there’s the velocity.
Lagrange’s fastball lives in the upper-90s and has been reported to peak at 103 mph. Pair that with a hard slider, cutter, and developing changeup, and you have the type of arsenal that makes hitters look overmatched before they even step in the box.
Like Betances before him, Lagrange began his development as a starter. But the conversation around his future is already shifting — not because he can’t start, but because his stuff may play at an elite level in shorter bursts.
Yankees fans have seen this movie before.
Betances struggled to find consistency as a starter before moving to the bullpen and becoming a four-time All-Star from 2014–2017, one of the most dominant setup men of his era. When the Yankees simplified his role and let his power arsenal play up, he became nearly unhittable.
The blueprint exists. And Lagrange fits it.
The Double-A Breakout That Turned Heads
Lagrange’s 2025 season across High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset forced the industry to pay attention. He struck out 168 batters in 120 innings, showcasing elite swing-and-miss ability that translates at any level.
Scouts consistently point to his fastball as a plus-plus weapon, with his slider emerging as a true out pitch. The cutter and changeup give him additional weapons, whether he remains in the rotation or transitions to relief.
The one variable? Command.
That’s not a flaw — it’s the final checkpoint for many power arms. If Lagrange tightens his strike throwing, his ceiling jumps from “exciting prospect” to “late-inning weapon.”
Why the Betances Comparison Has Real Weight
Elite size: 6’7” frame with downhill angle.
Power arsenal: Triple-digit fastball and bat-missing slider.
Starter-to-bullpen path: A transition that unlocked Betances’ dominance.
High-leverage potential: Built for late-inning pressure.
This isn’t lazy comp season. The parallels are structural, developmental, and stylistic.
My Way-Too-Early Prediction
Carlos Lagrange is the Yankees’ lights-out setup man by mid-summer.
Yes, it’s bold. But the Yankees’ bullpen picture always has room for a power arm to seize a role, and Lagrange’s stuff is already major-league ready. If the strikes come, the promotion won’t be far behind.
The Yankees don’t need him to be Betances. They just need him to be the best version of Carlos Lagrange.
Cue the Dellin Betances comps. If the command shows up, the Bronx is going to learn this name very quickly.
NYYNEWS will be watching every Lagrange outing this spring like it’s the eighth inning in October.
Born in Manhattan, New York, Felix Pantaleon is a Dominican-American digital content creator and the founder of NYYNEWS.com, the first and longest-running independent New York Yankees content creator platform, active since 2005.
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