The New York Yankees started full-squad workouts on Monday, and with that came some live batting practice.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge is present at workouts before he heads out to lead the United States of America in the World Baseball Classic. He faced off against the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, Carlos Lagrange, in live batting practice and got to see firsthand what all the hype is about.
In a video posted by SNY, Lagrange blew a 102.6 mph fastball by Judge for a strikeout.
Lagrange is the Yankees’ top pitching prospect and the No. 79 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. He has reached Double-A and has an estimated debut for this season. His 70-grade fastball headlines what Yankees fans should expect if he makes his debut this year.
The 22-year-old had 168 strikeouts across Single-A and Double-A last season. He had a 3.22 ERA in Double-A and could factor into the bullpen at some point.
The Yankees figure to have a surplus of starters when Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt return at some point. It may be difficult for Lagrange to make starts this season if he debuts, but how he plays at Triple-A could determine that. While he got the best of Judge in one at-bat, Judge showed him why he is a three-time Most Valuable Player in a different at-bat.
Judge hit a home run to left field off Lagrange before striking out against the prospect.
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