Carlos Lagrange hype train is hitting dangerous new speed at Yankees spring training

Sometimes, a narrative gets so loud so quickly that you wonder how it was ever possible for it to be silent in the first place.

A week ago, Carlos Lagrange was the Yankees' tantalizing, but unfinished, Double-A success story. Now that camp has opened? It seems every diligent student of pitching locked into the same clips and the same data at the same time. It isn't just the fastball. If you catch Lagrange on the right day, all his offerings will blow your mind. The physique. The dangerous bite. The change of speeds. It's almost like ... yeah, we can see it, too ... Dellin Betances.

Maybe that's why the Yankees didn't address their bullpen to the extent fans were hoping they would this offseason? They knew the consensus amazement was about to drop.

Yankees pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange could be in the bullpen sooner than you think

Entrusting Lagrange — who's still being developed as a starter, by the way — with crucial late innings in a pennant race is the kind of thing that's easier to say in February when you have no on-field pressure data to go off of. It's something that could work, but it can't be a grand plan.

Lagrange could easily be the type of guy who emerges out of nowhere midseason as a secret weapon who carries a team over the top. He is not a reason to avoid Robert Suarez in free agency.

That said ... the popping fastball. The surprisingly big and surprisingly quick hook. The massive frame. Betances comps are right there for the taking.

A big dude indeed.

There are plenty of potential breakouts at Yankees camp, from Spencer Jones to Ben Hess down to Kyle Carr and the overlooked mid-minors pitchers. But Lagrange has the highest potential to make a casual fan go, "Who is ... THAT?" He also has the highest potential of meaningfully moving the 2026 Yankees' needle as the season builds.

The Yankees have a long history of messing with electric arms and shoehorning them into the bullpen, damaging them upon rotation re-entry. It's been a while since the Joba Rules and the year Phil Hughes went from bullpen ace in '09 to roller coaster starter in '10. Lagrange's arsenal could be disgusting in the rotation, and that reality shouldn't be ruled out already.

That said ... expect a whole lot more people to see the bullpen vision as camp continues. It's already beginning, and we're still a week away from gameplay. The first 103 on the gun is going to melt minds.