The present day New York Yankees are in a fight for the lead in the American League East. Of course, there’s plenty of season left, but the Tampa Bay Rays have been either ahead of them or right on their heels. And in order for the Bombers to stay in the lead (and help separate themselves from the pack now without their leading slugger), they’re going to need even more of a full team effort.
That effort stems across the organization, from the hitters in the lineup, to those in the rotation, and those in the bullpen.
One of the members at the back of the Yankees rotation who has continued to show just how valuable he can be is Will Warren, the young right-hander who is hoping to solidify himself not just as an above-average major league starter, but someone who can go above and beyond in the biggest moments for a Yankees team looking for another World Series title.
William Harper Warren
Born: June 16, 1999 (Brandon, MS)
Yankees Tenure: 2024-Present
Will Warren was born in the southern region of the United States in Brandon, Mississippi. He grew up on the diamond before attending Jackson Preparatory School in Flowood, Mississippi from 2013 to 2017. He wasn’t the tallest, and he certainly wasn’t the biggest player on the field, but he racked up excellent numbers on the mound in high school, finishing his senior season with a 1.59 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched in his 10 appearances.
Warren attended Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana from 2018 to 2021. His freshman year he was utilized exclusively in the bullpen, appearing in 18 games and finishing with a 3.04 ERA. However, in his sophomore year he transitioned into a starter role; it was a slow start for the right-hander, though. In 14 games started and 16 games played, he finished with a 6.72 ERA in 67.0 innings pitched. He only allowed four home runs through the season, but he also allowed 74 hits and 50 earned runs. His coaching staff didn’t give up on his stuff, though. In his junior season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Warren only pitched five games (which he finished with a 1.90 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched). He pitched two games as a starter and three out of the bullpen, but, just as it was in MLB, it was an odd season for every level of every sport.
His make-or-break senior season was where Warren finally seemed to grip the reins a bit more than he had in previous years. He pitched in 14 games and started all of them. He finished with an ERA of 2.57 across 91.0 innings (an average of 6.2 innings per game). He also pitched two complete games that year and finished with 95 strikeouts.
Following his four seasons at Southeastern Louisiana, he was drafted by the Yankees in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft. He made his professional debut in 2022 with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the High-A South Atlantic League, where he pitched eight total games before a call up to Double-A with the Somerset Patriots. He had a 3.60 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 35.0 innings pitched with the Renegades and then didn’t return to High-A ball. He stayed in Double-A for the rest of the season and pitched 18 games, all as a starter, and he acclimated as well as many would expect for a 23-year-old fresh to pro ball. He finished the season with a 4.06 ERA in 94.0 innings pitched with 83 strikeouts. And even though he allowed a decent amount of hits, he avoided the long ball and was able to strike batters out when he needed to.
Warren returned to Somerset at the beginning of the 2023 season, but the same story unfolded for him between Double and Triple-A as it had for High-A and Double-A the year before. He pitched in only six games with the Patriots before being called up again — the Yankees thought he should be with Scranton following a dominant 2.45 ERA start. He stayed in Triple-A for the rest of the year and pitched 99.2 innings, crossing the 100 strikeout mark for a single team for the first time in his career with 110. The first half of his season was a lot more rocky than the second half, given that he was still adjusting to the Automated Balls-Strikes system that Triple-A had just adopted at that point. But when he found his stride, there was a clear look at the potential he could provide to a major league rotation. He finished the year not just having allowed only two runs in 28.2 innings in September, but he also won the International League Pitcher of the Month award thanks to that performance. He ended with a 7-4 record with the Railriders, and would earn himself a shot with the big league team in the 2024 season.
However, the next year wasn’t as glamorous for Warren as he may have wanted it to be. He was invited to spring training as a non-roster player, but was eventually sent backto Triple-A and struggled. He pitched 23 games and crossed the 100.0 innings pitched plateau for the first time in his professional career. However, a 5.91 ERA was not the number in the box score anyone was expecting as one of the Yankees farm system’s top pitchers. Nonetheless, he was given the chance to make his major league debut after Gerrit Cole was scratched from his July 30th start due to general body fatigue. At age 25, Warren, donning the number 98, ran out to the mound for his first major league start. And it wasn’t the best start of all time, but there were certainly flashes as he posted 5.1 innings pitched with four hits, six strikeouts, two walks, and four earned runs against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Remaining with the team for the rest of the 2024 season, Warren received five more apperances on a major league mound (four of which were starts), but he posted a 10.51 ERA, a result of problems that had plagued him prior to the big leagues: giving up lots of contact and a lot of baserunners.
Warren was on the Opening Day roster for the Yankees in 2025 due to injuries to both Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, and he was thrown into the fire. He won his first major league game against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium on April 12th, and went on to pitch 162.1 innings that season over 33 games, 33.1 more innings pitched than ever in his career, and about 53 more innings pitched at a single level in his career. A highlight of his year was posting his career-high in strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels in six innings pitched a day following his 26th birthday.
Warren finished the season with a 4.44 ERA, a 92 ERA+, and questions about his future with the Yankees arose considering the return of Gil and, eventually, Cole, put his position in the rotation in jeopardy. The 2026 season (particularly his start to the year) was going to be crucial. But, Cole wasn’t set to return until a bit into the season, and Carlos Rodón, who had elbow surgery in October, wasn’t going to be ready for Opening Day either, giving Warren the perfect chance to seize his moment.
And he did. Warren, alongside new acquisition Ryan Weathers at the back of the rotation, was fantastic through the early parts of the season and helped build confidence in a fanbase that may have been shaky on him. He finished with a 2.59 ERA and 3-0 record in six games through March and April, and, even though things have begun to come back down to Earth following a 3.82 ERA in May (despite a 4-1 record over that time as well), he still managed plenty of excellent outings, including another 11 strikeout performance at Yankee Stadium against the Kansas City Royals, tying his career-high.
June has been less favorable to Warren than Yankees fans may want to see, but he has the stuff to remain a solid, durable arm at the back of the Bombers rotation. We’ll be celebrating his birthday following an outing where he had to labor against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, but also with the start of a new series, as the Yankees welcome the Chicago White Sox. Happy birthday Will, and best of luck the rest of this season!
