eading into a three-game weekend interleague series against the 61-61 St. Louis Cardinals, the New York Yankees are winners of three of their last five games and suddenly, a few rays of optimism are creeping through in the Bronx.
True, the Yankees are still barely clinging to a playoff spot, just one-half game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final American League Wild Card berth.
But with 41 games remaining to be played, the Bronx Bombers have plenty of time to right the ship and live up to the 84.2% chance of making the playoffs currently given to them by Fangraphs.
But Yankees experts and fans have a new worry — if the Yankees manage to get into the playoffs, will manager Aaron Boone allow his most electrifying young starter to stay in the postseason rotation?
Cam Schlitter, an unheralded 2022 seventh-round draft pick out of Northeastern, has given an instant jolt to the Yankees rotation since his call-up from the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on July 9.
While the rookie has made just six starts with a 1-2 record and solid if unspectacular 3.94 ERA, what has the Yankees excited about the Massachusetts native is not the results in his brief career so far, but the velocity on his fastball that simply has not been seen in Yankees starters.
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Standing 6-foot-6 at 225 pounds, Schlitter strikes an intimidating figure on the mound, one that only gets more fearsome for hitters when he unleashes his four-seamer that tops out at 100 mph — as it did on Tuesday in a start against the Minnesota Twins, when he generated 15 whiffs (pitches swung on and missed) in the 86 pitches he threw over five innings.
Schlitter allowed one run on two hits while striking out six.
No other Yankee starter has reached 100 mph this season.
“The four-seam fastball generates devastating results despite location issues. Opposing hitters manage just a .227 batting average against the pitch while posting a 29 percent whiff rate,” wrote Inna Zeyger of Pinstripes Nation on Friday.
“He threw New York’s seven fastest pitches this season and his average fastball velocity of 97.9 mph was the highest for a Yankees pitcher this year. The pitch reaches nearly 2,500 RPMs and creates natural swing-and-miss opportunities,’ Zeyger continued.
So what’s the problem?
According to Bob Klapisch of NJ.com, if the Yankees do indeed reach the playoffs, Boone may lack the “stomach” to go with Schlitter in the New York rotation, especially with another rookie, Will Warren, already claiming a spot.
“That would mean sending Luis Gil to the bullpen, which the Yankees aren’t ready to do,” Klapisch wrote. “And it would also mean Boone betting big on a kid like Schlittler pitching past the fifth inning.”
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Boone has yanked Schlitter after the fifth, or earlier, in all six of his starts so far.
“The Yankees’ playoff hopes may depend on Boone’s willingness to extend Schlittler’s outings,” Zeyger wrote.
“The organization clearly views Schlittler as more than a temporary solution. His franchise-record velocity gives the Yankees a weapon unlike any in their recent history,” the Pinstripes Nation scribe concluded. “Whether Boone allows that weapon to reach its full potential remains the pivotal question as October approaches.”
Since his return from the injured list, however, Gil — the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year — has not proven himself more reliable that Schlitter. Across 8 2/3 innings in two starts, the 27-year-old has surrendered seven runs.
On the other hand, Boone allowed Gil to pitch into the sixth inning in his last start, on August 9 against the Houston Astros. But after he had recorded one out in the sixth and allowed a hit, Boone pulled Gil from the game.
