Drafted in the 7th Round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Yankees, Cam Schlittler made his professional debut in 2023. His initial season wasn’t overwhelming, posting a 4.11 ERA across 13 starts and striking out 24.4% of batters faced. This past season, he led the Yankees’ MiLB organizations in strikeouts (154) while posting a 3.36 ERA, and there was a lot to like about his underlying metrics and pitch repertoire. Pitching across three different levels, one of them being Triple-A in a spot start, Schlittler brought both strikeouts and damage prevention to the table.
With a unique fastball and some brilliant breaking balls, the Yankees might have their hands on a seriously talented pitcher who could become more of a mainstream name in 2025.
Cam Schlittler Is One of the Yankees’ Most Interesting Prospects
Across 25 outings this year, Cam Schlittler struck out 29.8% of batters faced with a 0.75 HR/9, both showing an ability to limit damage contact and generate a ton of whiffs. The right-hander has excellent stuff, sporting a mid-90s fastball that has some unique movement. While his lone Triple-A outing was terrible, as it was a spot start for a pitcher who was obviously not ready for it, there was a very useful takeaway from it; his pitch mix.
Triple-A has Statcast for all 30 ballparks in the International League and Pacific Coast League, and Schlittler’s fastball is both unique and enticing. It doesn’t generate a ton of vertical ride and hovers around the zero-line in terms of horizontal movement, making it more like a cutter than a four-seamer. It’s a unique primary pitch, but it’s very similar to the primary fastball that the 2021 NL Cy Young Winner possesses.
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Obviously I’m not claiming that Cam Schlittler’s fastball is as good as Corbin Burnes’ cutter, but the fact that they share similar movement and velocity profiles is interesting. Having a primary fastball that plays like or just is a cutter allows for some more damage prevention, but when it generates a decent amount of ride it’s also a quality swing-and-miss offering. The ability to combine strikeouts and damage prevention can create an extremely high ceiling for a pitcher, and Schlittler was one of the best pitchers in Minor League Baseball at meshing both skills.
Among MiLB pitchers with a groundball rate at or above 50%, Cam Schlittler has the third-highest strikeout rate in baseball (min. 100 IP), and his fastball isn’t the only reason for that. His sweeping slider generates a ton of horizontal movement, releasing it from a wide release point which allows the pitch to be even more deceptive because it creates a sharper angle when he throws it towards the first base side of the plate. Pair that with a curveball with excellent vertical drop, and you have a duo of breaking balls that can pick up a ton of strikeouts even if his fastball is off.
His mechanics are smooth, he stands at 6’6, and the Yankees could be looking at a very projectable pitcher with even more upside. Back in 2023, he was averaging around 90-91 MPH on his fastball in Single-A, and the velocity jump we’ve seen in 2024 is an encouraging sign that he’s making the right kind of adjustments. The Yankees specialize in cutter usage at the Minor League level as well, and while Cam Schlittler’s fastball is labeled as a four-seamer, in many ways it plays a lot like a cutter.
Cam Schlittler is right up the alley of pitchers who the Yankees have a lot of success with, and he’s already showing plenty of growth in 2024. We’ll see if he gets a postseason outing as the Somerset Patriots look to make a deep playoff run and take home their second Eastern League Championship since becoming the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate. They currently have a 1-0 lead in the Division Series against the Hartford YardGoats with a chance to win the series tomorrow night.