Yankees

From 7th-Round Pick to Yankees Record Holder: Cam Schlittler’s Rise Continues

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From 7th-Round Pick to Yankees Record Holder: Cam Schlittler’s Rise Continues

AI Overview

Cam Schlittler set a Yankees record Wednesday by recording his 19th start of the 2026 season allowing one run or fewer, surpassing Ron Guidry, Whitey Ford and Jack Chesbro. Against the Angels, the 25-year-old right-hander threw eight innings, allowed one run on two hits, struck out nine and walked none, lowering his ERA to 2.04. The Yankees won 6-3 in 10 innings, but Schlittler did not earn the victory. His breakout season has fueled a legitimate Cy Young conversation.

Cam Schlittler is officially running out of Yankees records to chase.

The 25-year-old right-hander added another historic performance to his breakout 2026 season Wednesday night, throwing 8 dominant innings against the Los Angeles Angels and allowing just 1 run on 2 hits with 9 strikeouts and zero walks.

That performance gave Schlittler his 19th start this season allowing 1 run or fewer, breaking a Yankees franchise record previously shared by Ron Guidry in 1978, Whitey Ford in 1964 and Jack Chesbro all the way back in 1904.

Think about those names for a second.

Guidry. Ford. Chesbro.

And now Schlittler stands alone.

Schlittler Nearly Untouchable Again

The Angels barely had a chance against him. Schlittler retired 20 of the first 21 hitters he faced and carried another dominant outing deep into the night before Vaughn Grissom finally got to him with a solo homer in the 7th inning.

That was it.

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Schlittler finished 8 innings with 2 hits allowed, no walks and 9 strikeouts. His ERA dropped to 2.04, putting him at the top of the American League at the time, while his ridiculous road ERA sat at 1.14.

Schlittler has now recorded more strikeouts than hits allowed in each of his last 21 road starts. The only MLB pitcher in the modern era with a longer streak on the road was Randy Johnson, who did it 23 straight times from 1999-2000.

The Yankees eventually won 6-3 in 10 innings, meaning Schlittler didn’t receive the victory despite doing nearly everything possible to earn one.

That’s baseball.

But wins and losses aren’t going to define what Schlittler is doing anymore. He’s entered a completely different conversation.

From 7th-Round Pick To Yankees Ace

There was nothing inevitable about this.

The Yankees selected Schlittler in the 7th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Northeastern. At the time, his fastball lived mostly in the high-80s and low-90s. He looked like the type of pitcher organizations draft hoping they can squeeze a little more out of.

The Yankees squeezed out a whole different pitcher.

Mechanical adjustments, organizational pitching development and advice from Gerrit Cole helped transform Schlittler into a power starter capable of living in the upper-90s and touching 100 mph. His combination of four-seamers, sinkers and cutters now overwhelms hitters instead of simply trying to survive them.

And he’s done it quickly.

Schlittler debuted in July 2025 and immediately posted a 2.96 ERA across 14 starts. Then came the moment Yankees fans probably won’t forget anytime soon.

Facing the Boston Red Sox — the team Schlittler grew up rooting for — in a winner-take-all Wild Card Game 3, he threw 8 scoreless innings, struck out 12 and didn’t walk anybody.

No pitcher in MLB postseason history had ever produced 8-plus scoreless innings, 12-plus strikeouts and zero walks in the same game.

Not bad for a kid from Massachusetts named after Bruins legend Cam Neely.

The Cy Young Conversation Is Real

With Cole still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, Schlittler didn’t simply hold down a rotation spot in 2026. He became the Yankees’ ace.

He made the All-Star team, produced a 13-strikeout, zero-walk performance against Cincinnati and entered September with 210 strikeouts through 29 starts.

Now add a franchise record that survived Guidry, Ford and more than 100 years of Yankees baseball.

The Cy Young argument isn’t hype anymore.

Whether Schlittler ultimately wins the award will depend on what happens over the final weeks of the season, but there’s no debate about what the Yankees found.

A 7th-round developmental project has become a legitimate frontline starter, a postseason weapon and one of the best pitchers in baseball.

At this point, another Cam Schlittler record doesn’t even feel surprising.

That’s probably the craziest part of all.

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