Mar 28, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Will Warren (29) prepares to deliver a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Yankees Pitcher Showing Off Newfound Velocity

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Mar 29, 2026 11:00 AM ET

Max Fried and Cam Schlittler stole the show in the first week of the season. The two dominated for the New York Yankees, and, in the case of Fried, he was hardly working with his best stuff, and still managed to put up 6.1 scoreless innings. In game three, it was up to Warren to keep the starter train moving, and, while he was not as prolific as his teammates, it was a good enough performance for the Yankees to come away with a win.

Against the Giants, Warren threw 83 pitches and allowed one run in 4.1 innings. He struck out three, walked two, and allowed five hits. It was a modest start by the standards of Schlittler and Fried, but there were some interesting things of note going on under the hood that tell the story of a pitcher who has a shot to break out this season.

One thing to look at is Warren's velocity. Warren threw nine pitches over 96 MPH in game three against the Giants. He threw five for all of 2025.

Two of those fastballs against the Giants were over 97 MPH. He had two for the entirety of last season.

Will Warren dials it up to 97 MPH and gets the strikeout to end the jam pic.twitter.com/Q1pNsBke5s
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 28, 2026

In Comparison to his Teammates

Then, while Warren struck out just three batters, he did generate a ton of swings-and-misses. He had ten in total against the Giants' lineup. Seven came against the fastball. Three were with his sinker.

To put those 10 whiffs into context, it was more than Fried had in his first start of the season. Fried generated six swings and misses. Warren was also a tick below Schlittler. Schlittler had 13, but was better at finishing off batters.

Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

A Dedication to Family

A newfound velocity wasn't the only thing on display for Warren. Before the season started, he changed his number to 29. It was in honor of his cousin, who tragically passed away in 2021.

He spoke of the dedication to his cousin before his start.

"My cousin was a big old goober and got into trouble all the time, but he was really good at baseball, and he was a really good friend to a lot of people," said Warren, according to the Daily News' Gary Phillips. "Stuff's gonna get bad, and you're gonna have bad days. But if you can show up and be there for people and put a smile on people's face, then you're carrying on his life. So for me to wear 29, that's a big deal for a lot of people back home, and it's a big deal for me too."

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This article first appeared on New York Yankees on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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