The New York Yankees rotation has been held together with duct tape and determination this season. But one guy who hasn’t missed a beat is Cam Schlittler. The 26-year-old righty is sitting on a 2.05 ERA through 20 starts, and he just made his first All-Star team. His secret weapon? Apparently, a Red Sox fan talking smack on a podcast.
Before Schlittler’s start against Tampa Bay last week, the Yankees showed him a clip from Jared Carrabis’s podcast. They knew exactly how he’d react. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, the team has learned to lean into Schlittler’s competitive edge, especially when it comes to anything connected to Boston.
Schlittler didn’t exactly bite his tongue about it either. He said it doesn’t matter what anyone from Boston thinks, especially when you look at where both teams are in the standings. The Red Sox are scuffling. The Yankees are in second place in the AL East, three games behind the Rays. Schlittler’s point was simple: they can talk, but the standings are the standings.
What makes this whole thing fun is that Schlittler is not just a feel-good story. He’s legit. He’s 9-5 with 137 strikeouts and only 25 walks. That kind of control is rare for a guy who wasn’t even a top prospect a year ago. He sat out the All-Star Game to rest up for the second half, and the Yankees need him fresh. They haven’t won a World Series since 2009, and this might be their best shot in years.
Dodgers series could be a statement
Up next for New York is a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It has that World Series preview feel to it. The Dodgers are the defending champs, back-to-back winners, and they don’t look like they’re slowing down. Schlittler will probably get the ball in one of those games. If he pitches like he has all year, it’ll be a real test of whether the Yankees can hang with the best in the National League.
The Carrabis clip thing might seem small, but it tells you something about Schlittler’s headspace. He uses disrespect as fuel. He’s not subtle about it. And for a Yankees team that has dealt with injuries to Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, and others, having a guy with that kind of fire in the rotation is a big deal.
Schlittler is very much in the AL Cy Young conversation. He’s not the favorite — that’s probably still Kevin Gausman or Shane McClanahan — but his numbers are right there. If he keeps dealing, and if the Yankees keep winning, that award talk is only going to get louder.
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