For the Yankees, much of the 2025 season has been about withstanding disappointment and negativity, about plowing through injuries and just, somehow, keeping their heads above water. For all the criticism the front office and manager Aaron Boone have taken, this is a season that has gone sideways and yet the Yankees still are perched with a near-certain shot at the playoffs with just a bit more than a month to go.
In order to withstand a year like the Yankees have had, there generally needs to be an unexpected, outside jolt. And the team has gotten it from rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler, who has been brilliant since he was brought up from the minors last month.
Schlittler continued his magical run in his ninth start on Saturday, against the White Sox, when he went 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and a walk, giving up one run and striking out eight as the Yankees eventually got the extra-innings win.
Yankees Could Use No. 3 Option
Amid this streak that has seen Schlittler go 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA in nine starts–with just one earned run allowed in his last three starts, spanning 18.2 innings, with 24 strikeouts–comes speculation that he could push aside some of New York’s high-paid hurlers and secure himself a rotation spot when the postseason rolls around.
Assuming Carols Rodon and Max Fried are secure at the top of the playoff rotation, Schlittler has a strong case to be slotted in after. “He continues to make a case for a rotation spot in October,” the New York Post’s Greg Joyce wrote on Saturday.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said he thinks Schlittler can handle it.
“He has a pretty steady character,” Blake said, via The Athletic. “I think the moment is not too big for him. He knows that he can pitch in the strike zone, which is a big part of it. I think that part of the game is important. When you get to the postseason, you’re probably facing teams that control the zone a little bit better, so you’re not going to get as much reckless chase in those lineups. I think the fact that he can throw his fastball in the zone, and he does at a high rate, would give you a chance in the postseason.”
Cam Schlittler Saved Yankees From Injuries
Of course, Schlittler was on no one’s radar as a potential stretch-run and playoff hero for the Yankees, but injuries ravaged the rotation, with Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt all going down.
But the hard-throwing righty was 6-6 with a 2.82 ERA in the minors this season, paving the way for his ascension. As he has excelled at the big-league level, he said, his confidence has grown.
“The big thing is always being confident,” Schlittler said. “That’s been important to me the last two years. Just being able to see the results, and getting confidence from guys in this room as well — it makes it easier to go out there and just do my job.”
Yankees Phenom Tabbed for Potential Playoff Rotation Spot