Yankees 2025 rookie sensation, 6’6 right-handed pitcher Cam Schlittler, who’s 25 years old, will make his 2026 season debut today against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. First pitch is scheduled for 4:35 PM E.T.
Schlittler is coming off a dominant first season campaign in 2025. After being called up on July 9th, Schlittler posted a 4-3 record with a 2.96 ERA with 84 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP in 14 starts and 73 total innings pitched.
Schlittler’s Performance In The 2025 AL Wild Card Game
Schlittler’s dominance in the 2025 American League Wild Card game against the Boston Red Sox where he pitched eight scoreless innings and recorded a dozen strikeouts, will likely go down as one of the best starting pitcher performances in the postseason, from a rookie, nonetheless. It also came at the most critical point, with it being in an elimination game 3, in which the Yankees would go on to advance and face the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series.
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 02: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees celebrates during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox in game three of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on October 02, 2025 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
When looking at Schlittler’s size, makeup, and overall success as a young Yankees starting pitcher who came up through their minor league system, it’s easy to see why he has “ace-like potential”. The Yankees drafted Schlittler in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Northeastern.
It was quite the surprise for Schlittler, who is from Walpole, Massachusetts, and grew up a big Red Sox fan. But now, of course, he and his whole family are big-time Yankees fans. Schlittler was ranked as the Yankees’ 12th-best prospect per MLB prospect rankings heading into 2025.
From College To The Pro’s
Coming out of Northeastern, Schlittler’s fastball velocity sat in the high 80s to low 90’s, but the Yankees saw room for growth. Schlittler now features a fastball with the Yankees that can touch triple digits, and averages at 98 mph, according to Baseball Savant. Schlittler’s fastball is elite in both velocity and movement, ranking in the 87th percentile in 2025 for fastball run value, according to Baseball Savant.
Schlittler also features a cutter, curveball, sinker, sweeper, and slider in his pitching repertoire, per Baseball Savant. When a young pitcher such as Schlittler throws such an elite fastball, on top of five other plus pitches, it makes sense why Schlittler’s ceiling is, in fact, possibly being the Yankees’ future ace pitcher, if not one of the best pitchers in baseball.
This isn’t the first pitcher the Yankees have recently developed in their own system and made a high-quality top-of-the-rotation arm. Current Padres starting pitcher Michael King, who was part of the Juan Soto deal during the 2023-24 offseason, came up through the Yankees system, first making relief appearances out of the bullpen, but was then transitioned into a starting pitcher, where he saw great success in 2022 and 2023 before being dealt to San Diego.
Schlittler’s Even Bigger Expectations For 2026
Schlittler’s season debut today at Oracle Park comes with even higher hopes after seeing the brilliance he showed down the stretch for the Yankees during the 2025 season. The Yankees’ starting rotation will be trying to navigate life without Cole and Rodon over the next several weeks, with Rodon estimated to return sometime around late April or beginning of May, and Cole sometime in the latter half (midway) point of the season due to him recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2025.
For the Yankees and Schlittler. The sky is truly the limit, and we’ll see what he can do today against a decent Giants lineup that was shut down by the Yankees’ current ace, left-handed pitcher Max Fried, during the Opening Day night game against the Giants on Netflix this past Wednesday.
Yankees’ Cam Schlittler To Make Season Debut Today At Giants