Cam Schlittler didn’t find himself on any top 30 lists for the Yankees‘ organization entering the 2024 season, as the 2022 7th Round Pick was considered nothing more than an afterthought on their High-A roster.
The Hudson Valley Renegades have become a hotbed for pitching development, with some of the team’s best prospects coming through there as a pitcher, and they’ve seemed to strike gold again with Schlittler. A big right-hander with a good fastball and even better breaking balls, he’s added a splitter to his repertoire that could directly address his biggest problem as a prospect.
An organization leaning more and more on offspeed pitches, the Yankees may have found a gem with Cam Schlittler, whose brand-new splitter might take him to the next level.
Cam Schlittler Quickly Become a Prospect Darling in Yankees’ System
The report from Greg Joyce of the New York Post detailed how impressed the Yankees were with RHP Cam Schlittler, noting the addition of a splitter. This could be game-changing for Schlittler, as left-handed hitters (.733 OPS) were considerably more effective than their right-handed counterparts (.560 OPS) against him in 2024. Splitters are an excellent offspeed pitch that can help a RHP with their struggles against LHBs, and if we can see an improvement from Schlittler with that pitch, he could end up being a force in the Yankees’ farm system.
What helps is that the Yankees are beginning to hone the development of offspeed pitches, with three of their five most prominent starters last season making serious progress from the year prior due to a changeup. Their best reliever was a project swing starter who had his changeup go from solid to elite, and if Cam Schlittler’s offspeed weapon takes a similar leap that any of those four aforementioned pitchers had, it could be a real plus pitch for him.
It would play extremely well off of his four-seam fastball, which now sits at 94-95 MPH. Thanks to the unique release point on that pitch it can miss a good amount of bats and suppress damage contact, but the main weapons in his arsenal have always been his breaking balls. Cam Schlittler has a brilliant slider and a good curveball as well, with both pitches grading out well and having good whiff rates. With a splitter though, he would have a weapon designed to get left-handed batters out.
Splitters were the most effective pitch from right-handed pitchers to left-handed batters, and if Cam Schlittler is able to throw a good one, then he could have a real weapon to dominate with during those matchups. Having better numbers against LHB could change the perception around the right-hander from a top 10-15 prospect in the organization to potentially becoming a top 100 prospect in the sport.
His raw stuff is excellent, he keeps the ball on the ground a ton, and he’s made rapid improvements mechanically that have allowed him to build more velocity. He was mightily impressive in his live session earlier this week, and the Yankees could have their hands on another pitching gem from a farm system that isn’t rated highly at the moment. Health will play a role in the progression of any pitcher, but given how close Cam Schlittler is to the Major Leagues, it’s extremely important for him to be available all year.
If the Yankees end up trading Marcus Stroman, suddenly the 24-year-old is in a position where he could get a spot start based on the team’s rotation needs.
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The underlying metrics for Cam Schlittler last season were really good, as he posted the third-highest strikeout rate for any pitcher with a GB% at or above 50% (min. 100 IP), and that unique ability to miss bats and get soft contact should translate in the big leagues. As mentioned before, the problem was that Schlittler couldn’t reliably put away left-handed hitters, but that splitter could take him to a whole new level.
After adding a gyro slider midseason, this splitter would give Cam Schlittler a fifth pitch for his repertoire, and that could be the final piece for him to become a force in the middle of the Yankees’ rotation. He’s got an abnormal release point, good velocity, and spins the ball well, and the sky is now the limit for him with that new offering.