Cam Schlittler is forcing a historic Yankees conversation ahead of the postseason

Barring disaster over the final two weeks, New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler appears assured of his first AL Cy Young Award.

There’s not much of an argument against the 25-year-old righty entering Sunday’s start against the rival Mets. He leads the American League in ERA (2.01) and bWAR (6.6), and his 220 strikeouts rank fifth league-wide. At this point, the question is more how many first-place votes he’ll split with the Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease.

But depending on how strongly the voters feel, a Cy Young Award might not be the only trophy destined for Schlittler’s mantle. The 2022 seventh-round pick has built a legitimate case to be only the second pitcher in Yankees history to earn MVP honors.

Could New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler win the AL MVP Award?

As of September 2026, Spud Chandler remains the lone full-time pitcher in Yankees history to win the AL MVP; the Florida-born righty went 20-4 with a 1.64 ERA, 20 complete games and five shutouts in 1943. (Just to give you another reminder of how much the game has changed, no pitcher has thrown more than one complete game this year.) And for those curious, Babe Ruth did not pitch a single inning during his 1923 AL MVP campaign. The more you know.

According to Major League Baseball’s Brian Murphy, future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander is the only full-time pitcher to lead the American League in bWAR over the last 30 years and subsequently win AL MVP. Verlander had 8.6 bWAR, narrowly ahead of Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista, both of whom finished at 8.3.

In other words, history is working against Schlittler, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s destined to fall short. His 6.6 bWAR is higher than any AL position player, and the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and the Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle, both of whom have 6.3 bWAR, each have a lack of team success working against them. 

That only leaves the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez, who has been considered the consensus AL MVP favorite throughout the second half. The 29-year-old Alvarez enters Sunday hitting .310 with 38 home runs, 96 RBI and a 1.017 OPS, though his bWAR only sits at 5.8; for those unfamiliar with Baseball-Reference’s Wins Above Metrics formula, full-time designated hitters are punished because they don’t play the field. 

But for as strong as Schlittler’s résumé looks, the oddsmakers view him as a non-factor in the MVP race. As of Sept. 13, the FanDuel Sportsbook lists Alvarez as a -20000 (bet $100 for a $100.50 total payout) favorite to win the MVP, and Schlittler is fourth at +8000. 

Hey, if you’re in the mood to take a chance, a $100 bet on Schlittler to win MVP will net you an $8,100 payout. That’ll cover all of your streaming service subscriptions entering football season. 

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