Aside from maybe third base, there is no bigger question surrounding the 55-45 New York Yankees than starting pitching.
It was tough to believe in this team once Gerrit Cole went down. It became even tougher when Clarke Schmidt joined him on the shelf. Suddenly, the Yankees are four games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East, and hold just 2 and 3.5-game leads over the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively, for second place.
New York does occupy the top Wild Card spot, but this is a team with another World Series appearance (and more) on its mind, and this staff is not going to cut it in October.
A New Era
According to MLB Marathon, scouts from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Colorado Rockies, amongst others, were in Toronto to watch rookie Cam Schlittler pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night.
Schlittler, 24, is the Yankees’ No. 11-ranked prospect who had made just one MLB start before Tuesday and can touch 100 mph on his fastball. Those arms do not grow on trees, and while he has limited exposure, he could quickly develop into one of the New York Yankees’ more tantalizing trade assets.
Over 15 appearances across Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, Schlittler is 6-6 with a 3.52 ERA, a 1.213 WHIP, and, most importantly, 99 strikeouts to 26 walks over 76 and 2/3 innings.
His stuff is still raw, and he needs to learn how to pitch in the Big Leagues to keep his spot in this rotation. But that swing-and-miss ability is hard to come by, and there could be teams willing to ship an expiring contract for his upside.
New York would have a hard time selling the Diamondbacks on Schlittler for any of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, or Eugenio Suárez. The same goes for the Pirates with someone like Mitch Keller, and Ryan McMahon with the Rockies.
However, that does not mean the Yankees can not package Schlittler with another high-potential prospect such as RHP Chase Hampton (No. 8), LHP Brock Selvidge (No. 9), or C/1B Edgleen Perez (No. 12).
Of course, that all depends on how aggressive general manager Brian Cashman wants to be at the deadline, but there are certainly paths to improvement without necessarily giving up someone of SS/2B George Lombard (No. 1), OF Spencer Jones (No. 3), or RHP Carlos Lagrange’s (No. 2) caliber.
Should He Stay or Should He Go
Cashman also has no requirement to deal Schlittler. His lack of MLB experience could make it difficult to sell teams, and his coming starts will reveal loads about his future with the organization.
If the New York Yankees can not find a suitable starting pitcher at the deadline, Schlittler could find himself locked into a fifth-man role. Max Fried (2.43 ERA, 3.03 FIP) and Carlos Rodón (3.10 ERA, 3.63 FIP) are a fantastic one-two punch and should carry the bulk of the weight in October (if the Yankees can turn this ship around).
However, beyond those two, there is not much to get excited about with this rotation. Rookie Will Warren could be a quality MLB pitcher for years, but he is not quite at a championship-level yet (4.91 ERA, 3.66 FIP). Marcus Stroman has looked better lately, too, but his 5.64 ERA and 5.27 FIP are concerning.
There is also Luis Gil, who should be back soon from his lat strain, but there are never guarantees about his health. With all of these question marks, perhaps retaining Schlittler is the safest option for New York.
Analyzing Yankees’ Options With Hard-Throwing Rookie