Andres Chavez
The New York Yankees, when they signed Carlos Rodon before the 2023 campaign, envisioned a 1-2 punch with Gerrit Cole at the top of the rotation. Little did the Bombers know that, at least at the outset of the 2026 campaign, that frontline pairing would be comprised of Max Fried and Cam Schlittler.
Fried, signed to a mammoth eight-year deal in the 2024-25 offseason, and Schlittler, who made his MLB debut last summer, are probably the hottest starting pitchers in baseball at the moment.
The Yankees have gotten four scoreless outings from their new pairing, in which they have combined to throw 25 innings, allow a whopping eight hits, walk two, and strike out 25 hitters. Their 0.44 WHIP is comically good.
Fried, The Underrated Leader Of The Yankees Rotation
Fried, the Yankees’ Opening Day starter, has walked two and struck out 10 in 13.1 frames, while Schlittler has fanned 15 with no walks in 11.2 innings. They have a combined 4-0 record, and the Yankees are 5-1. You can see the importance of dominant starting pitching right there.
Cole and Rodon will be back in a few weeks and will make this a fearsome foursome instead of a 1-2 punch, which has to be exciting for Yankees fans because they also have Ryan Weathers, Will Warren, Luis Gil, Elmer Rodriguez, Carlos Lagrange, and Ryan Yarbrough as options to start. If everybody is healthy, New York could field two solid rotations.
We know that entering October with every pitcher healthy and ready to pitch is a pipe dream, sure, but this is a hypothetical exercise. The Yankees appear to have the necessary organizational depth to withstand a few injuries and still field a competitive pitching staff.
An Incredible Staff-Wide Performance
It all starts at the top, though, and they currently have two valuable frontline arms guiding the rotation. Perhaps Fried and Schlittler aren’t conventional aces: the former hasn’t won a Cy Young Award and is seen by some as more of a solid number two, and the latter only has 16 MLB starts under his belt. Regardless of those facts, they are pitching like number one starters, and that’s also a fact.
Schlittler has shown an incredible ability to pick up the brains from the veteran pitchers on the Yankees, and that, combined with the influence of pitching coach Matt Blake and his own hard work, has created a monster.
The Yankees’ rotation is more than just Fried and Schlittler, though. If we add Weathers and Warren’s contributions, the entire staff has a 0.53 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP in 33.2 innings pitched, with 35 strikeouts.
New York might just have a top-three rotation in the sport when everything is said and done. They have been amazing in their first road trip.
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