Although Will Warren doesn’t consistently hit the high 90s like some of the other arms in the New York Yankees rotation – such as Ryan Weathers or Luis Gil – his velocity sits at a solid 93.9 mph on average. What he does have, however, is the ability to crank it up when it matters. He proved that with a 96.9 mph sinker that blew past Maikel Garcia, his second-fastest pitch of the season.
What truly sets Warren apart is his consistency and durability. He has shown he can take the ball every fifth day without issue. A look at his Baseball Savant page shows plenty of optioned and activated tags since turning pro in 2021, but zero trips to the injured list.
Knock on wood, that reliability is the biggest reason he should stay in the Yankees rotation once Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are fully healthy. And it’s easy to see why after his dominant outing against the Kansas City Royals: six innings, two runs allowed and 11 strikeouts.
Warren has quietly become the face of reliability in the Yankees pitching staff. His ceiling may not be as high as Weathers or top prospects like Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Cruz-Rodríguez, but New York knows exactly what it’s getting: a pitcher who shows up, takes the ball and keeps improving.
He got off to a rough start in 2024 MLB season and took some hard knocks, but he has steadily evolved since then. It’s almost hard to picture him as the same pitcher who gave up a grand slam to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the AL Division Series while pitching out of the bullpen.
The 2026 MLB season is still young and anything can happen, but if Warren keeps trending upward, the big questions are unavoidable: How will he look at the end of the year? What will he be a year from now? And where will he stand by the time he reaches MLB free agency?
The best version of Will Warren with the Yankees
Warren has completed seven innings just once in his career – against the Los Angeles Angels in May 2025. He reached the seventh twice in 2024 without finishing those outings. Those starts ranked among his best at the time, but his latest performance against the Royals may have topped them all.
The only real blemish was the two runs allowed, but with the Yankees leading 10-0, the Royals never had a real chance. At that point, Warren started attacking the zone more aggressively to pick up the pace.
Before that, he was in complete command on the mound. The Royals had no answers for his fastball or sinker. He generated seven swings and misses and 17 called strikes with the fastball, plus another swing-and-miss and six called strikes with the sinker – a true display of pitching control and efficiency.
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