In a rotation featuring veteran All-Stars Carlos Rodón and Max Fried, who would have guessed that right-hander Cam Schlittler would become the New York Yankees’ summer savior?
Schlittler continued his impressive rookie season on Monday night, throwing six innings of four-hit ball in a 10-5 victory over the Washington Nationals. The 6-foot-6, 2022 seventh-round pick struck out eight and worked around three walks, throwing 63 of his 96 pitches for strikes.
Not only did Schlittler again validate why he’s become a mainstay in the Yankees’ rotation since debuting in early July, but he became the first rookie in club history with two consecutive six-inning, eight-strikeout starts.
That’s right. Whitey Ford never did it, nor did Andy Pettitte or Ron Guidry. None of the Yankees pitchers to win Rookie of the Year — Bob Grim (1954), Stan Bahnsen (1968), Dave Righetti (1981), or Luis Gil (2024) — managed the feat, either.
“People can tell you what to do, but you’ve got to be able to go do it when no one’s watching,” Schlittler told reporters. “I put it on myself in the offseason, making sure I come into each Spring Training ready to go.”
Cam Schlittler's 3Ks in the 5th.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 26, 2025
7Ks thru 5.
It's a total Schlitt Show out there. pic.twitter.com/JPHAVXtUty
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised Schlittler as a “pleasant surprise” through eight starts and 42 1/3 innings.
“I knew it was going to be really hard for our guys to trade him,” Boone said, referring to speculation the Yankees would deal Schlittler ahead of the July 31 deadline. “I’m sure they would have had to have been overwhelmed.”
Cam Schlittler could save the Yankees’ World Series hopes
Assuming that the Yankees make the postseason as a Wild Card team, we imagine Rodón would start Game 1 and Fried would follow in Game 2. That likely leaves a potential third game to Schlittler, Luis Gil, or Will Warren, though we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yankees start limiting Warren’s workload; he’s already thrown 131 innings after never surpassing 129 in college or the minors.
If we were Yankees captain Aaron Judge, we would push Boone to give Schlittler that possible Game 3 start. No one denies that the 24-year-old Schlittler is a work in progress, and his 4.0 walks per nine remain a concern.
However, the Yankees need reliable starting pitching in the playoffs, especially given the bullpen’s continued unreliability. Devin Williams and Camilo Doval continue making a case to be left off the postseason roster, but we doubt the Yankees would make such a drastic move.
Schlittler deserves credit for stepping up at the right time, and he’s been phenomenal recently. Monday’s start dropped his August ERA to 1.63, and he’s posted a 31-10 K-BB ratio over 27 1/3 innings. Those are exactly the numbers that win you a spot on the playoff roster — and, possibly, the opportunity to start a postseason game.
For now, though, the Yankees must guarantee they even reach the playoffs. Boone’s club entered Tuesday trailing the Boston Red Sox by half a game for the AL’s top Wild Card seed.