Plenty of New York Yankees fans wanted to shovel dirt on their team's starting rotation when news broke that Gerrit Cole would miss the entire season and Luis Gil was out until at least the summer. Even more fans started to hurl insults at GM Brian Cashman after the team's plan B, former top prospect Will Warren, got off to a miserable start. But those fans are eating crow after the young right-hander's recent resurgence.
Warren has been downright sensational over his last three starts. He allowed just one run over 7.1 innings against the Athletics, then held the red-hot Seattle Mariners to two runs over five innings while striking out nine on the road. And on Tuesday, he delivered his best outing yet, striking out 10 over 5.2 shutout innings in a win over the Texas Rangers.
Warren's overall ERA of 4.05 in 46.2 innings pitched won't earn him a boatload of AL Cy Young votes, but it's done wonders to stabilize manager Aaron Boone's rotation. It also represents a major step up from how Warren pitched earlier in the season. His rocky start had alarm bells ringing throughout New York's passionate fan base.
Max Fried and Carlos Rodon are still the duo that anchors the rotation, but Warren suddenly has become the team's third-most trusted starter. Clarke Schmidt may have more long-term upside, but he's been erratic since his return from injury. Gil has yet to make his first appearance of the season, which has opened the door for Warren to seize his spot in the Bronx.
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Brian Cashman knew Will Warren's breakout was a matter of time
The priority for Warren now is to prove that his recent success is a sign of development instead of just temporary good fortune. The movement he's displayed on his fastball in recent weeks does alter his upside at the big-league level. It's improved his swing-and-miss percentage, which has helped him avoid loud contact in recent outings.
Warren's hits per nine innings has dropped from over 13 last year to a respectable total of 8.1 this year. There's even reason to believe his current ERA is inflated: His FIP is 2.85, which illustrates that his production could improve with better luck as the season rolls along.
The 25-year-old right-hander does not look like he has the stuff to develop into a true ace, but he now looks more like a good No. 3 starter than a hurler who might toggle between the back end of the rotation and the bullpen. That's a major progression for a homegrown player that New York wants to tout as a success story.
At the very least, Warren looks like a notable win for Cashman. It would have been easy to panic and overpay a veteran starter on the open market, but Warren has given them more than almost all of those free-agent options could have. He's now a building block for a Yankee franchise that has legitimate World Series aspirations on an annual basis.