In a 10-5 Yankees' victory against the Nationals on Monday night, Cam Schlittler lowered his ERA to 2.76 in his first eight MLB starts.
NEW YORK – Late Monday night, Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered that rookie Cam Schlittler was “a key part of our rotation now going down the stretch.’’
That importance could flex into October, with Schlittler firmly in the postseason rotation conversation.
A lot can happen over the final five weeks, but the 6-foot-6, 225-pound right-hander’s mix of cutters and curveballs off his average 98-mph fastball is tantalizing stuff.
And it was on display again during Schlittler’s six shutout innings in a 10-5 win against the Washington Nationals, a fine follow-up to his eye-opening performance last week at Tampa.
“Just being consistent over the last two, three starts, getting the fastball where I want it to be,’’ Schlittler said of his winning recipe. “And using the off-speed off that.’’
In his eighth MLB start, Schlittler held the Nats to four hits (all singles) and three walks with eight strikeouts and exited with a 7-0 lead after 96 pitches.
“Confident obviously,’’ Cody Bellinger said in assessing Schlittler. “The stuff is really, really good and the demeanor and how he goes about it is really impressive as well.’’
Last Wednesday at Steinbrenner Field, Schlittler retired the first 18 Tampa Bay Rays batters and departed after 6.2 shutout innings, yielding just one hit and two walks, with 8 Ks.
Tougher lineups than these await, but it’s becoming easier to picture Schlittler (2-2, 2.76 ERA) as part of a three-game AL wild card series rotation, along with Max Fried and Carlos Rodon.
Cam Schlittler a "future Yankees rotation staple''
Already, Boone sees Schlittler as “a future staple of our rotation,’’ and Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s spring training scouting report was that “he’s going to dominate’’ as a big leaguer.
“Electric fastball, can run it up to 99 (mph), touch 100 (mph) a few times,’’ said Chisholm, who supported Schlittler with his third two-run homer in two nights. “I like how he was super aggressive with his fastball.’’
And about that fastball…
“The interesting thing about him is that he wasn’t always this kind of guy,’’ said fellow Massachusetts native Ben Rice, who caught Schlittler Monday night, as well as in the minors.
“I remember the year he got drafted’’ out of Northeastern, in the seventh round of 2022. “He was not a velocity guy by any means.
“To his credit, he did the work, put on weight, put on muscle and really made himself into a really good pitcher,’’ said Rice. “He worked on his command as well, and we’re seeing it translate to this level.’’
Boone recalls that three years ago, Schlittler was “throwing 91-92 (mph),’’ yet he “still had the ability to throw strikes. He’s physically matured a lot, and his stuff has gone to another level in pretty short order.’’
Yankees seeing Cam Schlittler "getting better with every start''
Just that quickly, Schlittler became a frequent target of interested sellers before the July 31 MLB trade deadline, but “I knew it was going to be really hard for our guys to trade him,’’ said Boone.
“I’m sure they would have to have been overwhelmed by something.’’
The same could be said for the likes of George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones, the top position players in the Yanks’ system who were the subject of trade discussion but weren’t moved.
But Schlittler is the one boosting the playoff hopes of the 2025 Yankees.
“We’re watching him continue to get better every start,’’ said Bellinger, while Rice praised Schlittler’s “rough-and-tumble’’ and “blue collar attitude,’’ unafraid to attack with pitches in the zone.
Bellinger supported Schlittler with three RBI on Monday, and Rice clubbed his fourth homer in his last nine games.
And by the way, Schlittler says that confidence has never been an issue.
“Just being able to see the results and getting the confidence from the guys in this room…that just makes it a lot easier to go out and do my job,’’ Schlittler said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees' rookie Cam Schlittler being counted upon as a key weapon in September's stretch drive
Category: Baseball
