Yankees’ manager makes it clear that exciting pitching prospect will remain a starter

Aaron Boone is making it clear that Will Warren will be a starter for the Yankees, and it’s clear that they have high hopes for the right-hander, as he’s viewed as a potential arm in the rotation. He’ll have a chance to display his excellent array of pitches and impress the organization, although last season did a lot of that leg work for him. Warren had a 124 Stuff+ in Triple-A, and between Double-A and Triple-A posted a 3.35 ERA with 149 strikeouts in 129 innings, sporting an excellent sinker and sweeper combination.

In a recent interview we did with the Southeastern Louisiana product, he discussed how the additions of a four-seamer and cutter over the last year have helped him against left-handed batters, who have always been a thorn in his side. He really took off in the month of September, pitching to a 0.63 ERA while holding opposite-handed hitters to a .300 OPS and making a name for himself in the organization.

“I went in the offseason, worked on the cutter and the four-seam…when I made that strong to the Triple-A season it was more of commanding my cutter, my four-seam, [and] my sinker all at once…if I can command those I can constanly keep them guessing and use all three then they all move differently.”

– Will Warren

The development and maturation of his repitoire have been excellent, and the Yankees are hoping that he can make the jump to the Major Leagues.

How the Yankees choose to navigate their depth chart remains to be seen, but one would expect that Luke Weaver will be the team’s sixth starter if they were to sustain an early-season injury. Will Warren could factor into the rotation depending on how the current Major League arms hold up, but if he were to be promoted it would be for a starting role, not a bullpen one. That makes sense given the fact that they would have to place Warren on their 40-man roster, and that starts his service clock.

Going to Luke Weaver for now instead gives them the most roster flexibility and gives them time to assess their roster situation before ultimately beginning that timer on Will Warren. Some may argue that going to a journeyman veteran over an exciting young prospect is nonsensical, but the Yankees like what they saw in Weaver last season, and getting to see what he can do is valuable as well. It creates a bit of an undefined role for Warren heading into Spring Training, but all hands will have to be on deck this season if they want their pitching staff to hold up for 162 games.