Injuries slaughtered the Yankees’ pitching depth chart, as two of their four best starters entering the year would undergo season-ended Tommy John Surgery before August.
Luis Gil, who won AL Rookie of the Year, would miss more than half of the season after a high-grade lat strain, and it resulted in the team having to roll with both Will Warren and Cam Schlittler by season’s end.
The pair provided important starts for the team, and both displayed upside to improve upon their 2025 seasons, as injuries have already put pressure on their already-existing rotation arms to step up.
We’ve seen the Yankees’ construction of a steady pipeline of pitching talent from the farm to the Bronx begin to bear fruit, and both Warren and Schlittler could have big years in 2026.
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Why Cam Schlittler Could Become the Yankees’ Next Ace
When the Yankees brought up Cam Schlittler from Triple-A, it was to replace a productive Clarke Schmidt who went down with a UCL tear.
The hope was that he could provide some stability to the back of the rotation, but from August onward he was the team’s most productive starter when combining regular and postseason play.
He produced the team’s best K-BB% (17.4%) among starting pitchers, as his stuff finally translated into whiffs when he began consistently attacking the top of the zone with heaters, mixing in cutters, sinkers, and curveballs as well.
Schlittler’s cutter had two different shapes, one that played more to its namesake with good velocity and ride while the other was more of a slider, a slower pitch with good drop and lateral movement.
Cam Schlittler’s 114 Stuff+ was the sixth-best mark for SPs (min. 70 IP), trailing Hunter Greene, Eury Perez, Garrett Crochet, and Tarik Skubal.
Command is key for the right-hander to reach his potential, through his first five starts he had a 91 Location+, a firmly below-average mark, posting a 5.93 FIP over that stretch.
During his final nine starts, he had a 101 Location+ with a 2.62 FIP, and that carried into his electric postseason where he didn’t walk a single batter in two outings.
What makes Cam Schlittler so difficult to hit is the velocity, he throws his fastball between 97-99 MPH and the shape of his four-seamer has improved to the point where he can get whiffs at the top of the zone with it.
His cutter had a .204 BA and .333 SLG% allowed while generating a 27.3% Whiff%, the question now for Schlittler is whether the repertoire can expand or not to add some reliable secondaries.
Schlittler added a sinker that performed pretty well for him down the stretch and also has a curveball, but he needs to develop either a splitter or a reliable slider to get right-handed batters out.
The issue for Schlittler was not getting left-handed batters out, he was excellent in those matchups, but against right-handed batters he seriously struggled.
He had more of a league-average Whiff% against RHB and gave up plenty of barrels, which is why I mentioned a slider or splitter instead of a changeup.
Splitters can be platoon-neutral due to how sharp the pitch tends to drop while sliders (especially sweepers) tend to work very well against same-handed batters.
To add a splitter or refine the sweeper would be the final step for Cam Schlittler to evolve into one of the American League’s top starting pitchers.
You Shouldn’t Forget About Will Warren For 2026
This past season should be considered a success for Will Warren, who made 33 starts with a 4.44 ERA, as the right-hander dealt with some poor luck throughout the year.
He had an above-average FIP and xFIP, and while I do expect Warren to struggle with the HR ball next year, I also expect the right-hander to hold his velocity better throughout the season.
Adding some weight could help Warren sit a little closer to 94 MPH where his fastball shapes would be even more effective, and throughout the 2025 season he became more confident in those heaters.
Will Warren had +16 Run Value on his four-seamer and sinker this past season, where he struggled was locating the secondary pitches which do have swing-and-miss potential but get left too high in the zone constantly.
This heatmap of his sweeper illustrates why batters slugged .569 against the pitch, he hangs it in the middle of the zone constantly and will have to work on locating it in order to become a reliable middle-of-the-rotation arm.
His changeup (.289 wOBA, 31.7% Whiff%) become a strong weapon for him as the year went on as did the curveball, the location of this breaking ball will set the tone for the pitcher he becomes in 2026.
If he can get a positive Run Value on that pitch in 2026 he could be a sub-4.00 ERA pitcher with a 26-27% K%, and that’s why the Yankees hold him in such high regard.
There aren’t massive changes needed in order for Warren to take a massive step forward, the small changes he can make will be enough for him to take a big step forward.
He learned how to pitch as the year went on and I think the beating he received at times during 2025 will only serve to help him improve.
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