Yankees prospect Carlos Lagrange makes strong statement with Aaron Judge recovery

Spring training — especially before the games begin — is all about noticing. Who's playing out of position? Who's got a little extra zip on their fastball? Who slept on their neck wrong? After the Day 1 injury deluge, there usually isn't much definitive movement until the games have begun, but ... you can still see who's itching to prove themselves based on the way they respond to even the smallest opportunities.

Flamethrowing top prospect Carlos Lagrange knows he's talk of camp, both because of his big arm and the big club's bullpen vacancy. On Monday, he told eager fans a pretty impressive story in two pitches to Yankees captain Aaron Judge.

Lagrange toed the rubber with a big assignment on his docket and, unsurprisingly, the afternoon began with Judge humbling the kid. Lagrange thought it would be acceptable to sit below 100, clocking in a heater at 99 in his attempt to go head-to-head with the spring king. And it was acceptable. There's no scoreboard, after all. Judge torched the heater and left the yard. He's the MVP. No harm, no foul. Return to the backfield and work on it for next time.

Only this "next time" was just a few minutes away. And, with a two-strike count, Lagrange decided he couldn't exit without showing Judge exactly what he was made of. It doesn't hurt to do whatever it takes to get a powerful advocate in your corner, especially if it comes naturally.

Lagrage disposed of Judge rather easily, adding three miles per hour to his fastball and locating it picture perfectly on the low inside corner. An unhittable pitch, no matter who's hitting.

Yankees' Carlos Lagrange counters Aaron Judge with remarkable 102 MPH fastball at spring training

With stuff like this, the Yankees owe it to Lagrange to do whatever they can to improve his command before sentencing him to join the bullpen permanently. Judge knows how valuable a pitch like this can be with any sort of consistency and stamina.

Sorry, Yankees, but you've got another ultra-competitive and ultra-talented "problem" on your hands. There will be vacancies in the bullpen this summer — and we're not talking about the last men on a life raft. We're talking about high-leverage targeted lasers. Lagrange showed a propensity for meeting the moment on Monday afternoon, and the Yankees would be wise to pressure test him some more. But once he tantalizes fans out of the bullpen ... they may never want to go back.

Judge will likely be one of his main advocates as the process unfolds. And a two-AB sequence on Feb. 16 might genuinely factor into the discussions.