Cam Schlittler, a right-handed pitcher from the New York Yankees farm system, is being compared to former Yankee Ron Guidry for his recent performances, according to a May 2 article by Mike Lupica. Schlittler has posted a 4-1 record with a 1.51 earned run average and 49 strikeouts in just over 41 innings this season.
The significance of these comparisons lies in the rarity of homegrown pitching talent reaching such heights for the Yankees since Guidry’s breakout season in 1978. At that time, Guidry achieved a remarkable 25-3 record and won the Cy Young Award.
Lupica describes how Schlittler began attracting attention during the second half of last season at age 24, slightly younger than when Guidry made his debut impact at Yankee Stadium. He highlights that while other young pitchers like Joba Chamberlain and Luis Severino have shown promise for the team in recent decades, none have matched both the dominance and velocity displayed by Schlittler so far.
Last October, Schlittler delivered what Lupica calls “the biggest game of the Yankees’ season” against Boston in Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series—striking out twelve batters over eight scoreless innings. Opposing manager Alex Cora described his performance as “electric.” The article also notes that manager Aaron Boone praised another outing as an “ace-like performance.”
Recently, Schlittler faced off against Jacob deGrom and delivered six shutout innings on Tuesday. Teammate Aaron Judge said after that game that Schlittler had gone “toe-to-toe” with a future Hall of Famer. With ace Gerrit Cole still recovering from surgery, Lupica writes that fans are beginning to treat each of Schlittler’s starts as special events.
Schlittler is scheduled to pitch again on Monday against Baltimore at Yankee Stadium.
