New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler will toe the rubber on Wednesday night against the Seattle Mariners for his MLB debut, manager Aaron Boone first disclosed to the Talkin’ Yanks podcast on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old right-hander will be looked upon to stabilize a Yankees rotation that experienced another significant blow on Saturday, when Boone announced that starter Clarke Schmidt will need Tommy John surgery. The procedure will end his 2025 season and put the entirety of 2026 in significant jeopardy.
New York’s rotation is also without Gerrit Cole for the entire year (Tommy John) and won’t get Luis Gil back until after the All-Star break.
Schlittler began the season with Double-A Somerset, going 4-5 with a 2.38 ERA in 10 games (nine starts). He was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he has a 3.80 ERA in five starts. His strikeout numbers leap off the page, with 99 punchouts in just 76.2 innings of work — good for a 31.9% strikeout rate.
The Yankees do have more experienced options at Triple-A, particularly Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans, but both have been ineffective at the MLB level this season.
This avenue provides a fresh face, which could potentially add a spark to a Yankees pitching picture that has struggled significantly as of late. In their last nine games entering Tuesday night’s series opener against Seattle, New York has allowed an average of 7.8 runs per night.
