The sky is the limit for Cam Schlittler and his new sinker

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - MAY 09: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on May 09, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images Last month, I was given the opportunity to introduce a new series that I have been super excited to explore alongside all of you. It regards a trend we had noticed developing in the Yankees pitching room toward the end of the 2024 season.

At that point, the league was still very much in the midst of the four-seamer craze that arose to counter the launch angle revolution. However, something was brewing inside the Yankees pitching lab, and bit by bit we started to see the return of a pitch many thought was made obsolete by this new era of steep swings and high spin — the sinker. Now, I am thrilled to introduce the first installment in this series about the Yankees’ role in the return of the sinker, and who better to kick things off than perhaps the best pitcher in baseball right now, Cam Schlittler.

In analyzing the underpinnings of Schlittler’s meteoric rise, a lot of the focus this season centers on a conversation he had with Gerrit Cole about how to get the most out of his cutter — namely to throw it at max effort. As much as I certainly agree that Schlittler’s newly elite cutter is the principal driver of his success, I also feel that not enough attention gets paid to the adjustments Matt Blake and the rest of the pitching coaches have helped him make on the sinker. First, let’s start with the physical characteristics of the pitch.

In his debut season of 2025, Schlittler’s sinker averaged 97. 6 mph, 16. 8 inches of vertical drop, and 12.