Yankees ‘pleasant surprise’ could play key role in playoff run

NEW YORK — In early June, Cam Schlittler was still in Double-A. Even with the type of season he was having in the minor leagues, continuing to transform into the Yankees’ top pitching prospect, there were no guarantees that he’d even make his MLB debut this year.

That feels like a distant memory these days.

Schlittler twirled six shutout innings with eight strikeouts against the Nationals on Monday night at Yankee Stadium, yet another dominant start in pinstripes from the hard-throwing right-hander.

This month, Schlittler has a 1.63 ERA over 27 2/3 innings pitched. Last week, he flirted with a perfect game against the Rays, pitching into the seventh for the first time in pinstripes. His stuff isn’t just playing well against big-league hitters. It’s been overpowering.

“It’s a pleasant surprise to say he’s a key part of our rotation now going down the stretch,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the 10-5 win over the Nationals.

Why stop with “down the stretch,” though.

With the Yankees on a crash course to play in a Wild Card Series this October — barring a collapse out of postseason contention or a stunning comeback to overtake the Blue Jays in the division — they’ll need to pick a third starting pitcher for the rotation in that first-round matchup.

Ace Max Fried will likely get the ball in Game 1.

Carlos Rodón would be in line to pitch in Game 2.

Right now, Schlittler is the Yankees’ best option to be on the mound in a potential do-or-die Game 3.

Again, this is the same starter who wouldn’t have sniffed the big-league staff if everybody ahead of him stayed healthy. That’s an unprecedented turnaround for a pitcher that Boone considers a “future staple of [the Yankees’] rotation.”

Schlittler isn’t letting his results to this point get to his head, though.

As much as he’d love to pitch in October for the Yankees, he knows the Yankees need to get there first and that he needs to keep pitching well for the final month-plus of the regular season.

“It’s so far away still,” Schlittler told NJ Advance Media. “I still have a month more of proving myself and helping this team. When we get to the playoffs, obviously that’s the goal. But whatever they decide to do, I’m willing to do that.”

With the way he’s been pitching of late, it would be silly to take starts away from him, but if the Yankees do ever approach him about switching into a different role, possibly going to the bullpen in October, he’d be open to that as well.

“I don’t have the background to just be like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna do this,’” Schlittler said. “I’m trying to earn my place and whatever they think is gonna be the best option for me to help the team, then I’m willing to do that. So if that means coming out of the pen, that’s something I’d be open to.”

Schlittler’s competition for a postseason start would be fellow rookie Will Warren and reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil.

It’s worth noting, of course, that all three of those pitchers are young and under team control for the next several seasons. Fried is in the prime of his career, Rodón continues to evolve and eventually, Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt will return from Tommy John surgery. This team’s starting rotation should be effective for years to come and that’s before the Yankees pursue any upgrades from outside the organization.

One knock on Warren and Gil is that they’re susceptible to clunkers. Schlittler is too, but Gil, particularly, can unravel with his command even when he has unhittable stuff. Warren has been reliable for the most part this summer, but a few ugly starts along the way have inflated his numbers, many against postseason-caliber opponents.

There’s upside with all three of those right-handers to deliver a quality start in a pressure-packed situation, but they’d need to be on a short leash as well. It may simply come down to which pitcher is performing the best toward the end of the season or who matches up well against the team the Yankees are about to face. And if the Yankees make it deeper into the playoffs, with a best-of-five or best-of-seven situation, then they’d likely need two of those starters — if not all three — to be on their roster.

Whatever the Yankees decide, Schlittler believes this staff has the ability to propel this team deep into October.

If he keeps this up, he’ll be a part of it.

“It’s elite,” he said. “Max and Carlos are a great one-two. Obviously me, Will, and Gil are a little bit younger, but really good flashes of the potential. If they need us in those deeper games, we’ll be ready to help. So I’m confident that the staff, and the offense we’ve got behind us, is going to be able to make it work in the long run.”

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Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com.

Yankees ‘pleasant surprise’ could play key role in playoff run

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