Could Cam Schlittler be the AL starter in the All-Star Game? (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
At our dynasty league draft this spring, we didn’t have a pick until late in the first round, so we were quite sure that we weren’t going to be able to add New York Yankee hurler Cam Schlittler, who was available in the supplement portion.
When he went first overall, we were a smidge surprised, but it only cemented the idea that we weren’t going to be able to get anywhere near this dude.
That’s a shame, as Schlittler has vindicated going first… and then some. Every time this kid takes the mound, a Schlitt Show ensues, and in this instance, that’s a good thing.
He did it again on Friday, shutting down the Reds over six frames while allowing four hits and zero walks… oh, and punching out a career high 13 batters.
Seriously?
Believe it or not, this was the first time in a regular season outing that Schlittler has reached double-digit Ks. He actually looked human in his first start in June, as Cleveland tagged him for five hits and five runs (four earned) over 4 1/3 IP.
Since then, Schlittler is back to his dominant self, giving up just 14 hits and two runs over his last three games, covering 18 2/3 IP. How about a 25/5 K/BB ratio? Perhaps the most sickening part is that his June ERA of 2.35 represents by far his worst month of the season so far. Wow.
In his impressive rookie showing last year, Schlittler recorded 1.3 WAR over 14 starts, but he’s already tripled that in just two more starts in 2026 while leading the AL in ERA. His fastball velo has actually dipped a tad this year, but he’s using his heater less and his sinker far more… and to say it’s working seems like an understatement. Hell, you know you’re getting big when Prime is hyping you…
Helped along by a massive frame (6’6”, 225), Schlittler’s workhorse-like tendencies – going at least six frames in 10 of 16 starts – has really helped prop up a Yankee rotation that for at least parts of this season was (or is still) missing Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil.
That ability to pitch deeper into starts has also allowed Schlittler to rack up more Ws (eight in 16 starts this year compared to just four in 14 as a rookie). Yes, his advanced metrics suggest some regression is coming, but nothing dramatic, and his Baseball Savant page is littered with red: 100th percentile in pitching run value and fastball run value; 96th percentile in walk percentage; and so on, and so on…
Schlitter’s only wart is his breaking run value (25th percentile), but it hasn’t held him back in the least. It’s actually kind of hard to believe that he was only projected to be a mid-rotation starter as he’s been nothing but ace-like since making his MLB debut. And we certainly saw last year that he was not fazed by the bright lights, hurling gems in each of his postseason outings.
For the rest of the season, consider Schlittler — who knows how to fire back at those trolling him — an easy top 10 starter for Fantasy purposes.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
American funk artist Don Julian died at the age of 61 in 1998, but not before penning the soundtracks for some great Blaxploitation films, including Shorty the Pimp in 1973 (which he did with his band, the Larks). From this comes a cover of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Inner City Blues.”