Aug 2, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) pitches against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Yankees Must Consider Big Move With Rookie Pitcher

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The New York Yankees' five-man starting rotation is set in stone for the time being, but the club could shake things up as the regular season comes to a close and the playoffs rapidly arrive.

A seventh-round pick out of Northeastern University in the 2022 MLB Draft, right-hander Cam Schlittler is yet another huge development win on the pitching front for New York.

The 24-year-old has posted a 3.33 ERA over 54 outings (50 starts) in the organization's minor league system since debuting in 2023, working his way up to being ranked as the Yankees' No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline this year.

The first start of Schlittler's major league career came on July 9 vs. the Seattle Mariners, and he's completed three additional outings since. Over that stretch, he's logged a 4.58 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings while averaging 97.8 mph on his four-seam fastball.

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Schlittler has all the makings of an ace, but he may not realize that potential this season. His lack of command is a serious issue, as he's walking 5.0 batters per nine innings in a small sample size at the big-league level, and his 5.96 FIP suggests that he's gotten quite lucky thus far as well.

New York needs him to fill innings at the moment alongside Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Will Warren as Luis Gil slowly increases his pitch count after making his season debut last weekend, but Schlittler may not be long for the club's rotation in 2025.

There's a world in which the Yankees decide to move Ryan Yarbrough (oblique) back into a starting role once he returns from the injured list, and perhaps Kenta Maeda will also enter the equation if he excels with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after signing a minor league deal earlier this week.

For those reasons, New York's best option may be moving Schlittler to the bullpen during the playoff hunt and once the postseason actually arrives should it clinch a spot.

His workload isn't the main concern, as he's thrown a total of 96 1/3 innings this year after completing 120 2/3 in 2024. It's rather a means of the Yankees putting both themselves and Schlittler in the best situation to succeed, and transitioning him to the bullpen feels like an obvious decision in this case.

Plenty of teams have moved their top pitching prospects into the bullpen during their runs to the playoffs in the past. The Detroit Tigers did it with Jackson Jobe in 2024, and the Chicago White Sox used Garrett Crochet as a reliever while making back-to-back trips to the postseason in 2020 and 2021.

Schlittler still projects as a mainstay in the Yankees' rotation, but he's best suited to fill a bullpen role this year as the club looks to make it back to the World Series.

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