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Yankees Pitching Prospect ‘In the Mix’ After Injury News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kristie Ackert | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 2:33 PM ET

The New York Yankees didn’t just lose a game in Toronto this week. They might have lost Clarke Schmidt for a while. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tightness—an ominous diagnosis for any pitcher, especially one who admitted he’s been managing it for several weeks.

So now what for a Yankees’ rotation that injuries have already ravaged?

Cam Schlittler?

The 22-year-old right-hander has been steadily climbing the Yankees’ system, and now he might be climbing into their rotation. When asked before Friday’s series-opener against the Mets about Schlittler’s chances of joining the big-league staff, Yankees manager Aaron Boone stoked the interest.

“He’s an exciting pitcher,” Boone told reporters. “He’s certainly put himself in the mix.”

Schlittler is the Yankees’ 6-foot-6 righty with a mid-90s fastball that rides at the top of the zone, two different sliders, and a splitter the Yankees have helped him refine, according to Fangraphs. Schlittler has dominating High-A and Double-A, and he’s continued to thrive since being promoted to Triple-A, posting a 1.69 ERA with a strikeout rate north of 40 percent in his first 21 innings.

The Yankees haven’t needed to rush him, but that might be changing.

With Schmidt down, Ryan Yarbrough on the injured list with a strained oblique, and Luis Gil not expected back from the injured list until next month, the Yankees’ rotation is shaky. The organization could be forced to take a closer look at a guy who keeps forcing the issue.

Schlittler isn’t a finished product.

He still needs to sharpen his changeup and clean up some mechanical inefficiencies in his delivery. But the stuff is real. The competitiveness is real. And the opportunity? That just might be real, too.

The Yankees came into the season thinking they had enough pitching depth. But depth has a funny way of thinning out by July. Cam Schlittler has put himself in the mix. Now it’s just a question of when the Yankees call his name.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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