Second year pitcher Cam Schlittler is the strong American League Cy Young candidate, but he may have a chance at another award. The New York Yankees ace continues to add to the great body of work and saw his ERA dropping below 2.00 in recent weeks. Schlittler has an outside chance at the AL MVP Award since he’s arguably the best player in the entire MLB right now.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle uses an advanced stats model, and it recently saw Schlittler moving up in the rankings via his AXE rating:
“Front-runner: Yordan Alvarez, Astros (146.9 AXE). Next: 2, Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees (143.0).
Schlitter has an uphill battle, but if I’d included pitchers in the MVP tables earlier, he would have been a fixture all season. Now he’s earning a little buzz both in articles speculating on awards consideration and the betting markets. I don’t think he’ll win, but for a 2026 starting pitching to get so prominently mentioned, that tells you all you need to know about how dynamic he has been.”
Doolittle confirmed that he expects Houston Astros slugger Alvarez to win the award since it’s extremely difficult for pitchers to take home MVP. However, he made sure to note that Schlittler making this race at all shows he’s having a historically great season for the contending Yankees roster.
How Cam Schlittler Can Win The MVP
Alvarez remains the strong favorite to win the AL MVP, but his Astros are still battling to make the playoffs. Houston is currently tied for first place in the American League West with the Texas Rangers both having 77-77 records.
Voters could punish Alvarez for team success if the Astros miss the playoffs and finish with a record under .500. Schlittler must hope for some luck of Houston failing and finishing his season strong with the Yankees having the second-best American League record.
An important start against the Tampa Bay Rays could see Schlittler having a “statement performance” if it helps the Yankees have a chance at the AL East title. Hitters getting the advantage in MVP voting requires Schlittler to finish perfectly to have a viable shot.
Current Betting Odds Hurt Cam Schlittler
Doolittle’s model is fully based off advanced stats, and fan discussions do little to help Schlittler’s case with baseball media. Current betting odds on various sports gambling sites see Schlittler still distantly behind Alvarez and Junior Caminero.
Bet MGM has the following odds for viable American League MVP candidates, as of September 19, 2026;
Alvarez: -2000
Caminero: +1100
Schlittler: +6000
Unfortunately for the Yankees and Schlittler, the odds show that it may be too late for him to make up ground in the narratives. Alvarez has been considered the favorite since he started putting up strong slugging numbers early in the season.
Schlittler should take pride in likely winning the Cy Young Award and even creating enough momentum to get any MVP consideration as a pitcher in 2026. The postseason will see Schlittler hoping to lead a rotation with Gerrit Cole and Max Fried to the World Series.
Cam Schlittler Gets Great Sign For Entering AL MVP Race