Back at the start of spring training, it felt like Cam Schlittler had a path to cracking the New York Yankees’ Opening Day roster solely because injuries had decimated the rotation.
At this point, Schlittler should be considered the overwhelming favorite to start the Yankees’ first playoff game. The 25-year-old threw eight innings of one-run, nine-strikeout ball in Wednesday’s 10-inning victory over the Angels. He dropped his ERA to 2.04, and he’s already at 210 strikeouts with three-plus weeks left in the regular season.
Schlittler entered Wednesday night with 5.9 bWAR and departed for the showers with 6.4, giving him a legitimate chance to become just the 16th pitcher in franchise history with a 7 bWAR season. Gerrit Cole (7.4 in 2023) and Hall of Famer Mike Mussina (7.1 in 2001) are the only ones to accomplish the feat since 2000.
All-Star outfielder Cody Bellinger called Schlittler’s pitching “beyond special,” and that’s coming from someone who played alongside Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer.
“He understands what he wants to do on the mound,” Bellinger said. “He’s a smart pitcher. On top of that, he’s got really good stuff, and he’s just doing a tremendous job. He’s injected a ton of energy into our locker room.”
New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler just joined Bob Gibson in a small club
According to OptaStats, Schlittler is the third pitcher in MLB history to record at least 100 strikeouts and a sub-1.15 ERA in a 13-game road span. Hall of Famer Bob Gibson and the immensely underappreciated Luis Tiant both did so in 1968, better known as the Year of the Pitcher.
Just to put things in perspective, neither Kershaw nor Scherzer did it at the peak of their careers. Pick the greatest pitchers you’ve watched in person, whether they’re Hall of Famers or someone who had a jaw-dropping prime like Dwight Gooden, and none of them managed to do what Schlittler has done. As far as we know, no one even rattled off such a streak in the dead-ball era.
When you hear your name mentioned alongside Bob Gibson, you know you’re doing something right. Perhaps the most remarkable part is that Schlittler was a 2022 seventh-round pick. He didn’t arrive in the minors with the hype of Paul Skenes, nor was his big-league debut last summer considered a marquee event.
Schlittler has become a meme among Red Sox fans, in part because he’s not afraid to share receipts. The threats he receives on Instagram have become the newest unfortunate chapter of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, though he’s doing his best Pedro Martínez impression in more ways than one. No matter how many boos and profanities are thrown his way, he goes out there every fifth day and shuts down opposing lineups with ease.
Things aren’t always that simple, especially not in the social media climate. He already owns a 0.75 ERA in 24.1 regular-season innings against the Red Sox, and don’t forget that he struck out 12 over eight shutout innings during last year’s Wild Card Series. Who’s your daddy now?
We’re long past the point of arguing that Schlittler is having one of the best pitching seasons in Yankees history. His 2.09 ERA currently ranks ninth among qualified starting pitchers in Yankees history, and his 210 strikeouts are tied for 15th. If he can record 21 more punchouts, he’ll move past CC Sabathia (2011) and Luis Severino (2017) for sole possession of fifth place on the Yankees’ all-time single-season list.
The advanced metrics, traditional stats, and the eye test all prove what we’ve known since March: Schlittler, at least for now, is the real deal.
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