Will Warren

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #9 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Track Record: An eighth-round pick in 2021, Warren was shut down after signing in favor of more controlled instruction at the team’s minor league complex in Tampa. When he emerged, he put forth a breakout 2022 season between High-A and Double-A that included 125 strikeouts in 129 innings and earned him the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year honors. He split 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A, where he struck out 149 in 129 innings.
  
  Scouting Report: Warren works with a varied arsenal that includes four- and two-seam fastballs, as well as a cutter, slider, changeup and curveball. Both fastballs are thrown around 94 mph and occasionally bump a tick higher. He changed the grip on his four-seamer this season in an attempt to give it more life. Warren’s sweeping slider is also a potential plus pitch, and it pairs well with his two-seamer to form an excellent east-west attack. He rounds out his repertoire with a fringy changeup in the high 80s. Warren added a cutter in 2023 to help him attack lefthanded hitters more effectively. His cutter and curveball were thrown a combined 5% of the time. The Yankees want Warren to continue to learn the best ways to deploy his mix, and part of the reason behind his promotion to Triple-A was to show him that more advanced hitters are less prone to chasing pitches than those at the lower levels. Those hitters, plus a stricter strike zone enforced by the automated ball-strike system, led to a slightly elevated walk rate and about a 2% lower strike rate. Warren has plenty of weapons. Now, he needs to learn the best ways to use them.
  
  The Future: Warren’s likely role is as a starter toward the back end of a rotation with a fallback option as a powerful multi-inning reliever. He should make his MLB debut in 2024.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 40 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Cutter: 55 | Control: 45
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #7 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Warren is the latest in the line of gems the Yankees' pitching department has polished into intriguing prospects. He was selected in the eighth round of the 2021 draft out of Southeastern Louisiana but did not pitch professionally after signing. He opened the 2022 season at High-A Hudson Valley and was one of the organization's biggest pop-up arms as he ascended to Double-A Somerset in early June, making him one of the first handful of 2021 draft picks to advance past Class A. Warren racked up a 53% groundball rate that ranked 18th in the minors for pitchers with at least 100 innings and second in the Yankees' system behind Matt Krook.
  
  Scouting Report: Instead of sending Warren to an affiliate in 2021, the Yankees set about re-imagining his arsenal. They supplemented his four-seam fastball and curveball with a two-seamer and a slider and started him on the path toward attacking the strike zone more horizontally than vertically. As the year wore on, Warren also added a cutter to his mix, which still included his 12-to-6 curveball as a strike-stealer in early counts. Warren's overall fastball velocity has ticked up as well, going from 91.8 mph during his senior season in college to 93 mph during the 2022 season. The velocity jump came from continued physical maturity and better use of his lower half. Scouts have questions about Warren's viability as a rotation piece, stemming from his shaky overall command and the effort in his delivery, which makes it tough to repeat.
  
  The Future: Optimistic evaluators see Warren as a back-end starter, while more bearish scouts see him as a middle reliever who can eat innings and get ground balls. He'll advance to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 40. Slider: 60. Cutter: 40. Control: 50.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #158 prospect in 2021 draft
  In his first three years at Southeastern Louisiana, Warren was a useful pitcher filling a variety of roles. He morphed into the team’s undisputed ace in 2021, something he made clear early on when he shut out Arizona for six innings. He was consistently effective all year. Down the stretch, Warren reached double-digit strikeouts in each of his final three starts, finishing the year 7-2, 2.57 with 95 strikeouts in 91 innings. Warren added strength and velocity during the 2020 layoff and came back for 2021 throwing significantly harder. His average fastball went from sitting 90-91 and touching 95 to sitting 91-93 mph and touching 95-97. His ability to carry that velocity deeper into games improved as well. Warren has two distinct breaking balls—a mid-70s above-average curve (that will top 3,000 rpm) with plenty of depth and occasionally some sweep away from righthanded hitters. He mixes in a harder, tighter, average mid-80s slider. He only uses his fringe-average changeup against lefties, but it will show some arm-side fade. Warren has an easy, flowing delivery. He still has skinny legs, although he’s now likely carrying a little more weight than the roster indicates (6-foot-2, 175 pounds). His steady improvement gives him a shot of being a useful back-of-the-rotation starter in pro ball and his breaking balls make him a viable relief option as well.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Warren is the latest in the line of gems the Yankees' pitching department has polished into intriguing prospects. He was selected in the eighth round of the 2021 draft out of Southeastern Louisiana but did not pitch professionally after signing. He opened the 2022 season at High-A Hudson Valley and was one of the organization's biggest pop-up arms as he ascended to Double-A Somerset in early June, making him one of the first handful of 2021 draft picks to advance past Class A. Warren racked up a 53% groundball rate that ranked 18th in the minors for pitchers with at least 100 innings and second in the Yankees' system behind Matt Krook.
  
  Scouting Report: Instead of sending Warren to an affiliate in 2021, the Yankees set about re-imagining his arsenal. They supplemented his four-seam fastball and curveball with a two-seamer and a slider and started him on the path toward attacking the strike zone more horizontally than vertically. As the year wore on, Warren also added a cutter to his mix, which still included his 12-to-6 curveball as a strike-stealer in early counts. Warren's overall fastball velocity has ticked up as well, going from 91.8 mph during his senior season in college to 93 mph during the 2022 season. The velocity jump came from continued physical maturity and better use of his lower half. Scouts have questions about Warren's viability as a rotation piece, stemming from his shaky overall command and the effort in his delivery, which makes it tough to repeat.
  
  The Future: Optimistic evaluators see Warren as a back-end starter, while more bearish scouts see him as a middle reliever who can eat innings and get ground balls. He'll advance to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 40. Slider: 60. Cutter: 40. Control: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Warren is the latest in the line of gems the Yankees' pitching department has polished into intriguing prospects. He was selected in the eighth round of the 2021 draft out of Southeastern Louisiana but did not pitch professionally after signing. He opened the 2022 season at High-A Hudson Valley and was one of the organization's biggest pop-up arms as he ascended to Double-A Somerset in early June, making him one of the first handful of 2021 draft picks to advance past Class A. Warren racked up a 53% groundball rate that ranked 18th in the minors for pitchers with at least 100 innings and second in the Yankees' system behind Matt Krook.
  
  Scouting Report: Instead of sending Warren to an affiliate in 2021, the Yankees set about re-imagining his arsenal. They supplemented his four-seam fastball and curveball with a two-seamer and a slider and started him on the path toward attacking the strike zone more horizontally than vertically. As the year wore on, Warren also added a cutter to his mix, which still included his 12-to-6 curveball as a strike-stealer in early counts. Warren's overall fastball velocity has ticked up as well, going from 91.8 mph during his senior season in college to 93 mph during the 2022 season. The velocity jump came from continued physical maturity and better use of his lower half. Scouts have questions about Warren's viability as a rotation piece, stemming from his shaky overall command and the effort in his delivery, which makes it tough to repeat.
  
  The Future: Optimistic evaluators see Warren as a back-end starter, while more bearish scouts see him as a middle reliever who can eat innings and get ground balls. He'll advance to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 40. Slider: 60. Cutter: 40. Control: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Midseason Update: After not pitching at all in his draft season, Warren has emerged not only as one of the stars of the team&#39s most recent draft class, but of the system as a whole. The Yankees altered Warren&#39s arsenal to give him a mix based heavily around a sinker and slider, and the result has helped him rocket to Double-A while getting grounders by the bushel.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 50. Slider: 60. Changeup: 50. Control: 50.