Yes, Cam Schlittler looks amazing. And yes, the same can be said about Max Fried, despite his so-so start on Sunday. However, you could very well say that Will Warren has been the most improved Yankee in the 2026 season so far. The guy is coming off a solid but unspectacular season in which he posted a 4.44 ERA with a 4.07 FIP and a 14.9 K-BB% in 2025, and is currently sporting a brilliant 2.39 ERA, a 2.80 FIP, and a 25 percent K-BB%.
Of course, he has thrown only 37.2 innings, which is nothing compared
to the sample he left us last year, 162.1 frames. It’s still premature to call Warren an ace or a frontline starter. But we can and will say he looks fantastic and could be the X-factor behind the Yankees’ 2026 campaign.
The main area of improvement in comparison to last year has been Warren’s performance against lefties. They punished him in 2025 to the tune of a .266/.350/.436 line and a .342 wOBA. In contrast, righties hit .232/.283/.398 with a .294 wOBA. That, of course, was a problem because he actually faced more lefties (396) than righties (315).
Warren’s K-BB% last year against lefties was a meager 8.1 percent. Against righties? 23.5 percent. You could also see the stark difference in WHIP (1.61 vs. 1.11) and FIP (4.76 vs. 3.29).
This year, Warren has found a way to be as effective against lefties as he is when he faces righties. That has unlocked a whole new level for him. Again, this year’s sample is still small and doesn’t account for potential adjustments to be made by hitters around the league. But 37.2 innings are not nothing, and we have seen enough improvements to be encouraged. Here are the splits so far in 2026:
Warren vs. lefties: .208/.260/.347, .272 wOBA, 26 K-BB%, 3.36 FIP
Warren vs. righties: .239/.280/.324, .273 wOBA, 24 K-BB%, 2.22 FIP
Warren’s improvements can be attributed to several factors. One, the command of his fastball and sinker appears to be better. Two, he is not afraid to use his breaking stuff to steal strikes early in the count and the heater and the sinker late, which means he is more of an enigma on the mound. And three, and perhaps the most important, his changeup is looking better than ever.
Here are the numbers behind Warren’s cambio:
2025: .197 BA, .236 xBA, .380 SLG, .381 xSLG, .289 wOBA, .307 xwOBA, 31.7 whiff%
2026: .154 BA, .202 xBA, .154 SLG, .265 xSLG, .139 wOBA, .202 xwOBA, 44.4 whiff%
It’s night and day. It’s because of the changeup that Warren now has a consistent weapon to neutralize lefties, and that, if it sticks over the long term, would be huge for his development. It dramatically increases his ceiling.
The changeup is showing more horizontal and vertical movement this year compared to 2025. It’s averaging 37 inches of vertical drop and 16 inches of arm side break, and it was at 35.7 and 14.6 inches last year, respectively.
With the Yankees close to getting Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón back, their rotation has a chance to be one of the best MLB has seen in the last decade. And Warren, while nominally one of the ‘backend’ guys when everybody is healthy, would be an elite fourth or fifth starter. At this point, there’s no way he leaves this rotation unless something changes.
