The New York Yankees have the frontrunner for American League Cy Young Award, but it may not be the ace starter you’d expect.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle named Cam Schlittler the current frontrunner for AL Cy Young Award after his dominant first two months of the 2026 season.
Schlttler is 6-2 and, of course, leads the American League in ERA (1.50). The award is up for grabs with two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers slated to miss at least the next month after elbow surgery to repair loose bodies in his throwing elbow.
The last Yankees pitcher to win the AL Cy Young was Schlittler’s teammate, Gerrit Cole, when he did so in 2023.
Cam Schlittler is the AL Cy Young Frontrunner
Schlittler has pitched like an ace since he joined the Yankees last season, and of course had his most dominant outing in the do-or-die Game 3 of the AL Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox.
Yet, Doolittle pointed out how swift the power-armed righty has ascended amid a wave of injuries to Yankees starters, including Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon.
“A quick reminder that, a year ago at this time, only those deep into prospect lists knew who Cam Schlittler was,” Doolittle wrote. “Now, he arguably has been the Yankees’ most valuable player, especially considering the needs of New York’s injury-ravaged rotation.”
Schlittler’s high-90s fastball has been his calling card, though he only ranks fifth in strikeouts (75) among AL starters. Still, Schlittler has a 0.86 WHIP, opposing clubs have just a .475 OPS against him this season and he has walked only 13 in 66 innings.
“Dominance is the word that describes Schlittler best,” Doolittle wrote. “His strikeouts-minus-walks percentage (24.5%) ranks fourth in the majors, one spot ahead of Paul Skenes. When you pound the strike zone with swing-and-miss stuff, that’s dominance.
“The AL Cy Young leaderboard is pretty wild looking, but Schlittler is legit.”
Durability May Affect Cam Schlittler’s Cy Young Candidacy
Schlittler has an easily repeatable pitching motion, and his 97-100 mph fastball is easy out of his hand.
Still, no pitcher is immune to arm injuries, and Doolittle noted the 25-year-old is entering uncharted territory.
“The only question is how he might respond to what hopefully will be the highest innings totals of his young career,” Doolittle wrote. “Last season, he threw 164 innings between the majors, minors and the postseason. He’s on pace for more than 200 this season, and that’s before we get to October.”
The plus side for the Yankees is they have extreme starting-pitching depth. Cole and Rodon just returned from their injuries, Will Warren hasn’t missed a start in his career, Fried should be back around the All-Star break and Luis Gil, Elmer Rodriguez and young flamethrower Carlos Lagrange are in the minor leagues able to fill in if needed.
Messing with Schlittler’s routine could affect his dominance, and in turn his Cy Young candidacy, and an injury will almost certainly take him out of consideration. But the Yankees need him if they want to win the World Series for the first time since 2009.
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