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The New York Yankees received plenty of heat from their own fanbase during the offseason. Supporters expected their beloved team to make multiple major moves ahead of the 2026 season. Instead, GM Brian Cashman and Co. opted to mostly bring back the same team from a year ago.

Despite the concerns, the Yankees hope that the reintroduction of Gerrit Cole helps put them over the top this season. The veteran is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is expected to return to the mound soon. ESPN’s Jeff Passan previously claimed that New York’s success in 2026 essentially hinges on Cole’s health.

While Cole is obviously important to the Yankees, a pitcher 10 years younger could very well be the club’s X factor in the ultra-competitive American League East division. According to Passan’s ESPN colleague, David Schoenfield, Cam Schlittler’s emergence gives New York an edge over the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto previously beat the Yankees in the 2025 postseason en route to a World Series appearance.

As the reporter points out, the Yankees’ sophomore starter was a bit overlooked compared to a Blue Jays budding star. “Schlittler came up with Toronto’s [Trey] Yesavage last season, with both players in the same division and making big starts in the postseason,” writes Schoenfield.

“Yesavage entered 2026 with more hype based off the Blue Jays’ World Series run and his own postseason performance, but I had Schlittler ranked a little higher on my hypothetical list of starters. Yesavage began the season on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, so the early nod goes to Schlittler — and the Yankees.”

Cam Schlittler Continues Dominance on the Mound for the New York Yankees

GettyCam Schlittler relied heavily on fastballs during his recent dominant start.

Schlittler, 25, was downright dominant in his first start of the current campaign. The pitcher shut down the San Francisco Giants by not allowing a run in 5 1/3 innings on the road. Along with giving up just one hit, Schlittler also racked up eight strikeouts with zero walks. The impressive performance was essentially an extension of his spring training. The ace only allowed one run in just under 10 innings on the bump during preseason.

Interestingly enough, Schlittler’s impressive start relied heavily on various fastballs. In fact, 88% of the pitches thrown by the star were some form of fastball (four-seamers, two-seamers, and cutters). While it is obviously a small sample size, Schlittler’s velocity was up on the three pitches from last season. According to Baseball Savant, his cutter averaged 95 MPH against the Giants, up from 92 MPH in 2025.

New York Needs Solid Pitching to Have a Successful Season

The Yankees may be banking on Cole’s return being enough to give them an edge over the Blue Jays this season. However, Schlittler’s development should help New York be patient with easing their ace back to the mound. In 15 total regular-season big league starts, Schlittler now has a 2.76 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 92 strikeouts in 78 innings.

New York is always going to hit. After leading the league in runs and home runs in 2025, the Bronx Bombers have returned with a similar lineup this season. Nevertheless, pitching will be the key in 2026. So far, the Yankees’ staff has combined to allow just one run in 27 innings of work. Schlittler is not alone, but is certainly playing his part early in the campaign.

Christopher Moore Christopher Moore has been a Heavy.com contributor since 2025. With over a decade of experience in the industry, he has published thousands of articles reporting on multiple professional sports. He was previously a sports writer for World Soccer Talk, the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and the Maryland Sports Blog. More about Christopher Moore