Cam Schlittler’s fastballs are the real deal

The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season is officially underway, and the Yankees have begun their “run it back” season without a hitch after a three-game series sweep against the Giants. The first two games, including the first MLB game of 2026, were shutouts in favor of the visiting Bombers. Max Fried continued his dominance from 2025, and so did a pitcher who joined the party late last year but certainly made an impression: Cam Schlittler.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander started 14 games for the Yankees last season and posted an ERA of 2. 96 in 73 innings pitched, along with 84 strikeouts. His best performance was, as many recall, in a do-or-die American League Wild Card Series finale against the Red Sox, where he pitched eight scoreless innings and posted a dozen strikeouts to advance the Yankees into the Division Series.

Coming into the 2026 season, the now-25-year-old Schlittler had big plans in the Yankees’ rotation, and his first start built an excellent foundation for him. Tasked with starting the second game of the season due to injury recoveries from the likes of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón—no easy assignment for a sophomore player—he pitched 5. 1 innings and allowed only one hit with eight strikeouts and came out with his first victory of the campaign.

But this win, there were two particular aspects about Schlittler and his approach that people around baseball paid attention to as the outing went on, concluded, and lingered: his cutter and fastball arsenal. Of course, when Schlittler came on the scene, the first thing that was noticeable (outside of his physical attributes) was his high-powered fastball that can reach up to 100 mph and more. But Schlittler is unique in that he uses multiple fastball pitches, including a sinker and a cutter, along with his four-seam.