TAMPA – It's still spring training when pitchers generally go ahead of batters.
But what Cam Schlittler did on Tuesday against some of the Yankees' best batsmen was just opening his eyes within the organization, along with what he already accomplished last year.
The 24-year-old right-hander hit Cordy Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe and DJ Lemahieu in his first taste of Big League camp.
And although he didn't entrust the judge of Aaron, the Yankees captain emphasized finding Schlitler when it was done, telling him he has something good.
“They're great players, so it's good to see where I'm with my own and how it plays with some of those better people,” Schlitler said afterwards.
Schlittler has not been in camp to win jobs in the rotation this year, but after finishing in Double A last season, he has begun to appear as one of the top arms in the next tier of pitching depth in the minor leagues. Masu.
The Yankees' seventh pick from Northeastern University in 2022 – signed by Northeast Area Scout Matt Hyde. Matt Hyde is responsible for signing Anthony Volpe and Ben Rice – after the 2024 breakout season, his stock rose. High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset (one spot start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).
He posted a 3.36 ERA and hit 154 (most of the Yankees minor leaguers) spanning 120²/₃ innings.
“It's been a massive maturation process for cams over the past two years,” Pitching's director, Sam Briendar, said Wednesday. “I understood who he is and what he has to do every day, improved his routine, and then he did some massive delivery adjustments.”
The Yankees were excited about Schlitler when they drafted because he was “explosive and athletic” in the 6-foot-6 frame, Brien said.
However, he was only 200 pounds and had difficulty controlling his body under the mound.
So the Yankees took him to the weight room and had him add some muscle and washed away the delivery before Schlitler “runned with it.”
Briend said the adjustments have increased Schlittler's fastball four miles per hour since he drafted him, and are now sitting at 94-95 mph and touching 97-98.
He also added splitters to his repertoire this offseason (to replace a changeup that was a little too stiff and didn't slow the batter enough), and his Arsenal had curveballs, sliders and tighter gyro sliders. It concluded with.
“He already has a lot of big league stuff, so he has to keep growing,” said Rafael Flores, who caught Schlittler for much of last season. “He's going to be really, really good.”
Being invited to Big League camp this spring is just the latest step in Schlitler's development.
He went through some important things last season when jumping from High-A to Double-A.
“I think game planning is a big part of baseball,” Schlitler said. “I really didn't have to do that much with high-a. Once I get to Double-A, the batters are obviously much better. So I've got more time and more on the game plan side of it. I took a commitment. But not only throw the ball where you want, but also learn how to pitch. Play things, play mistakes and tunnelling, I think it's a big part, and the game Reading the bat is definitely difficult. I'm still working on it now, but last year I definitely felt it.
Schlitler wants to take some wisdom from big league pitchers along with him.
He watched Gerrit Cole's bullpen session on Tuesday before the 2023 CY Young winner threw his own live batting practice.
“He's a great guy and he's pretty open about trying to help us get better,” Schlitler said. “It's always good to talk to people who have been there for a few years and learn what I can do while I'm here.”
