The story of Schlittler's journey from 7th-round pick to All-Star ace

Most afternoons, Cam Schlittler can be found tucked inside a hoodie somewhere in the Yankees’ clubhouse, speaking so softly that teammates lean in to hear him. At first, Aaron Judge believed he might be shy, just a blue-collar Massachusetts kid who loves cats and once asked security to extricate a spider from his locker.

Then Schlittler swaggers to the mound, carrying what Jazz Chisholm Jr. describes as “that F.U. attitude” every ace needs, challenging the world’s best hitters with three different fastballs -- all crackling with high-octane velocity.

That combination is key to understanding how an unheralded seventh-round pick has transformed into an American League All-Star and a legitimate Cy Young Award contender.

“I feel like I’m pretty confident in myself,” Schlittler told MLB.com. “It’s easy when you have great guys in this locker room to help. Ever since I’ve made some adjustments, I’ve really seen great progress, and I trust my stuff.”

Three springs ago, Schlittler arrived in Tampa, Fla., for his first professional Spring Training. He recalls tossing at the Yankees’ complex alongside another prospect, Carlos Lagrange, who was already close to touching triple digits with his fastball.

At the time, Schlittler could reach the mid-90s on his best days, but he’d sat mostly around 92-93 mph at Northeastern University. The Yankees saw projection in Schlittler’s lanky 6-foot-6 frame, and his strike-throwing ability was a plus. Still, he was viewed as a lottery ticket.

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said he didn’t know if Schlittler “was going to be anything other than your average college right-hander.”

“And if we did know,” adds Damon Oppenheimer, the club’s vice president of domestic amateur scouting, “then there’s no way in heck we’re waiting until the seventh round to take him.”

Schlittler absorbed all of that as a challenge, embracing the “Gas Station” of the Tampa complex, a large blue shed that looks from the outside like it might house farm equipment. Within, pitchers enjoy access to modern tech, including high-speed cameras, radar systems, force plates and marker-based motion tracking.

“They gave me the tools to succeed,” Schlittler said. “But they’re not going to baby you; you’re an adult. It’s up to you. I’ve seen a lot of my friends not utilize them, and now they’re not playing anymore. I credit the pitching lab, the strength and nutrition. Everyone’s great. But you’ve got to put the work in.”

Sam Briend, the Yankees’ director of pitching, assisted in honing Schlittler’s pitch shapes. Preston Claiborne, the club’s current bullpen coach, worked on Schlittler’s mechanics. Blake credits the cleanup of inefficient mechanics stemming from their initial delivery assessment, especially in his lower half.

Schlittler admits he may have groaned through a few 8:30 a.m. report times, but he kept showing up, stacking gains.

“I’m young. I like to have friends, I deserve to be able to enjoy my life,” Schlittler said. “You can get carried away in college or when you first get drafted. I think I’m managing that stuff really well, just putting my body first. It really makes things a lot easier when you can motivate yourself to get better.”

The Yankees recommended that Schlittler add muscle mass, but when he reached their target of 225 pounds, he felt bulky. Schlittler eventually settled on 218 pounds, his current weight, as an ideal base for explosive movement. As Schlittler said, “I’m not going to throw 95 at 225 when I can throw 100 at 218.”

“He’s still a lean guy, but he’s pound-for-pound stronger than he was,” Blake said. “He’s accessing strength and range of motion, applying it to the delivery. He’s doing a better job of using the lower half of his delivery to be aggressive but streamlined to home plate, and a lot of times, that translates to more velo.”

Claiborne said that Schlittler “showed up a different guy” in 2024. By the end of that year, he was averaging 93 mph. He was sitting 95 mph by the spring of 2025.

Still, he was unfamiliar to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who remembers bringing him across the street from Minor League camp to pitch in a Grapefruit League game. As he observed Schlittler sitting between innings in the center of the dugout bench, nostrils flaring, Boone recognized that they might have something special.

“He still feels like the same guy,” Boone said. “He’s a little silly in between starts and has a very light, easy way about him. But what I like about him is, he’s very coachable. You can get on him, you can tell him different things and he’s going to apply it. He’s a very confident kid.”

Schlittler debuted last July 9 against the Mariners, then came back for good two weeks later. Finishing the regular season with a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts, Schlittler absorbed wisdom from Gerrit Cole, who was recovering from Tommy John surgery at the time. Cole suggested Schlittler would benefit from throwing his cutter harder at the top of the strike zone.

That resulted in a trademark game in the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, as the pitcher named after Boston hockey legend Cam Neely dispatched his once-favorite team with a scoreless 12-strikeout performance.

“There are different paths to greatness up here,” Cole said then. “But this guy has come up and delivered right away. He’s got it. I don’t know exactly what it is -- it’s hard to define it. But he’s got it.”

And it was a mere introduction to the national stage for Schlittler, who will carry a 9-5 record and 2.01 ERA into Saturday’s start against the Nationals.

Now that the Yankees have built one Cam Schlittler … can they build another?

“That would be nice, right?” Blake said. “The more guys you get like this, they just become success stories you can lean on. If players know it’s been done before and we’ve got a process for it, hopefully they can buy in quicker and commit to it, just like Cam.”

As Schlittler entertained a visitor at his locker recently -- head deep inside a hoodie, as always -- relief pitcher Fernando Cruz observed an interview in progress and announced loudly, “Best pitcher in baseball!”

Schlittler smirked, almost apologetically, which prompted this question: When you hear that, can you believe it?

“People can really say whatever they want; it doesn’t matter,” Schlittler said. “I think I’m going to thrive in the biggest moments. The goal is to win a championship. Whatever I can do to lead us to that is the most important thing.”