Andres Chavez
The New York Yankees had a solid prospect in Cam Schlittler when the 2025 season started. He was assigned to Double-A back then and dominated. His velocity started to increase, and he began toying with minor league hitters.
The Yankees called him up, and he had an immediate impact, posting a 2.96 ERA and striking out 84 hitters in 73 frames last year. He was also masterful in the offseason.
In the 2025-26 offseason, Schlittler and the Yankees worked on his tunneling and on throwing his high-speed cutter more often. He is now primarily a three-fastball pitcher, throwing a four-seamer, a cutter, and a sinker as his three preferred options while also mixing in a few curveballs and sliders.
A Three-Fastball Monster
The result? He has completed 11.2 innings so far this year, allowing no runs and just three hits. That’s ridiculous, and it’s not a typo. Almost 90 percent of what he throws is some form of fastball, and he is still virtually untouchable.
The key, as Fireside Yankees suggest via X, is that all three pitchers look exactly the same coming out of his hand. Hitters have no way of differentiating them, and it poses endless problems for them.
The four-seamer, designed for the top of the zone, is generating an obscene 51.5 percent whiff rate. It has some ride, and it comes at 98-99 mph. The cutter has some serious late bite, and the sinker gets amazing run. And everything flirts with the triple digits, so yes: Schlittler might be one of the hardest pitchers to hit at the moment.
The Yankees can rest easy knowing they have a very talented and young starter under control for six more seasons. Schlittler is moving closer to ace status and is one of the best up-and-coming starters in the American League.
A Complete Pitcher
The scary thing is that, because his three-fastball combo is so wicked, we forget about how much potential the curveball has. Schlittler has become the definition of a power pitcher, an ‘old school’ approach that is based on showing hitters some of the hardest stuff they will see and daring them to hit it.
Until they do, there’s little reason for him to change anything at this point. He has worked hard to optimize his mechanics and delivery to get as much velocity as possible, and to refine his stuff, release point, and tunneling to win the mental battle against hitters. Now, it’s their turn to adjust if they want to get anything going against him this year and beyond.
Some are already calling Schlittler an ace, and to be fair, they aren’t far from the truth. The track record is still short, but he can get there in a hurry. The Yankees have a true gem in him.
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