New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler won the American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, receiving all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Barring an extension, the 25-year-old who earned just $801,425 in 2026 has one pre-arbitration season left, which puts his next contract on the Yankees’ offseason agenda.
Schlittler went 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA in his first full major league season. Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease finished second and Cleveland Guardians rookie Parker Messick placed third, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Justin Verlander in 2022, Gerrit Cole in 2023 and Tarik Skubal in 2024 each took all 30 first-place votes, but Skubal’s 2025 repeat came with 26 of 30 first-place votes. Schlittler’s win makes four unanimous AL winners in five years.
Cam Schlittler’s Rise From Walpole to Yankees’ Rotation
A Walpole, Massachusetts, native who pitched at Northeastern University, Schlittler was visiting his parents when the award was announced. Previous Cy Young winners from the state include Billerica’s Tom Glavine and Methuen’s Steve Bedrosian.
The Yankees took him in the seventh round of the 2022 draft and signed him for a $205,000 bonus. He debuted July 9, 2025, and posted a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts as a rookie. In October, the Yankees handed him a do-or-die Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox.
Then came 2026. Schlittler opened the year in a rotation expected to be led by Max Fried and Gerrit Cole, then became the staff ace and a first-time All-Star, according to Yahoo Sports.
Since ERA became official in 1913, only Spud Chandler (1.64 in 1943) and Ron Guidry (1.74 in 1978) have posted lower ERAs for the franchise. It was also the AL’s lowest since Verlander’s 1.75 in 2022, and Schlittler closed with a 1.17 ERA over his final nine starts.
He struck out 239 batters, tying Jack Chesbro’s 1904 total for the fourth-most in Yankees history, and walked 49 in 193⅔ innings. He also led the AL in pitching WAR and opponent on-base percentage.
Schlittler allowed one run or fewer 21 times, a franchise record. Over the past 110 years, only Blake Snell, Dean Chance and Babe Ruth have matched that at age 25 or younger.
“He’s going to win the Cy Young,” manager Aaron Boone said, according to MLB.com. Knicks star Josh Hart had said it months earlier.
“Schlitty is the Cy Young winner, hands down,” Hart posted on social media after Schlittler struck out a career-high 13 batters without a walk on June 19.
New York Yankees Cy Young History, Where Schlittler Ranks
Commissioner Ford Frick introduced the award in 1956, naming it for Cy Young, the pitcher with the most wins in baseball history. One pitcher won it across both leagues through 1966. Since then, one pitcher from each league wins.
At 25, Schlittler is far from youngest ever to win a Cy Young. Dwight Gooden was 20 years, 324 days old on the final day of the 1985 season, and Fernando Valenzuela was 20 years, 338 days in 1981, according to youngest Cy Young winners in MLB history. Bret Saberhagen (21 years, 178 days in 1985), Vida Blue (1971) and Paul Skenes (23 years, 122 days in 2025) also appear on that list. At 25, Schlittler is older than all of them.
He is, however, the youngest Yankee ever to win it, according to Yahoo Sports, and the franchise’s first homegrown starter to take the award since Guidry in 1978.
Schlittler is the seventh Yankees pitcher to win, joining Bob Turley (1958), Whitey Ford (1961), Sparky Lyle (1977), Guidry, Roger Clemens (2001) and Cole (2023). Cole was the first Yankee winner since Clemens, who took a record seven Cy Young Awards in his career.
Yankees’ Cam Schlittler Makes History With AL Cy Young Award Win