Yankees fifth-rounder's absurdly hard fastball must be seen to be believed

The New York Yankees love to import mid-round pitching talent in the MLB Draft and get to work in the lab, but it's possible the raw ingredients have never been as enticing as what Vanderbilt's Greysen Carter brings to the table.

Of the Yankees' first 10 selections in the 2024 MLB Draft, eight of them were pitchers, all of them collegiate. Among their choices were two LSU Tigers and two Vanderbilt Commodores, meaning they double dipped from the top pitching factories, typically a winning strategy.

The connective tissue between the Yankees' picks, seemingly, was "an inability to make everything click." First-rounder Ben Hess finished his 'Bama season with a 5.80 ERA. LSU's Thatcher Hurd? 6.55. Vandy's Bryce Cunningham? 6.43 in 2023, down to 4.36 last season, making him a veritable Corbin Burnes in comparison already. The Yankees are confident they can iron out the flaws in these pitchers' deliveries, making sure that at least a few of them won't be fatal, and draft experts seem to agree, assessing the Yankees' selections positively.

Of all the Yankees' perplexing-but-intriguing picks to replenish their pitching stock, the purpose behind the selection of fifth-rounder Greysen Carter was the most obvious. The Yankees need filth and swing-and-miss in their bullpen. They need it right away. They also need it next year. They care not about a 6.58 ERA in a junior season in the SEC. Whenever Greysen Carter is ready, they'll take him. Because Greysen Carter throws 103 MPH.

Yankees MLB draft pick Greysen Carter throws fireballs

The Yankees selected such a large supply of pitchers in part because they know exactly what to do with raw arms, a process they've successfully completed plenty in recent years. They've also depleted their stockpile in trades from 2022 to present, adding Juan Soto (good!) and Scott Effross (oh!) in the process. The Yankees are hopeful that ... let's say five of these eight top picks eventually become viable trade assets, and they'll hold onto the ones they eventually deem to be untouchable.

Based on one look at Carter's fastball, the hope is that he becomes the fastest mover among the group, and is able to contribute to the big-league bullpen shortly, if not remain in the rotation. He does possess a curveball, slider and changeup, all of which "need work" and could use a crash course in control, per MLB's Sam Dykstra, but that four-pitch mix means he might avoid a bullpen fate. So does his Cape Cod League stint, when he whiffed 14 in 14 frames with a 1.88 ERA back in 2023.

Whether it's the rotation, 'pen, or a deal with the Chicago White Sox, Carter's blink-and-you'll-miss-it heater makes him an obvious asset. Fifth round? Yeah. That'll work nicely.