April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nSchlittler\u2019s fastball topped out at 98.2 mph, and out of 18 swings against it, the Mariners whiffed an incredible 11 times (61 percent). He threw just 79 pitches as he\u2019s still building his pitch count after a late start in spring training. It came after Schlittler\u2019s scoreless 5 1\/3-inning performance in his first start of the year, and when it was over Wednesday, he calmly walked off the mound, getting surprisingly loud cheers from the rival crowd.<\/p>\n
Schlittler said he leaned heavily first on his four-seamer, then, as the game progressed, he worked in his two-seamer\/sinker and his cutter.<\/p>\n
\u201cFelt pretty strong with the game plan that I had, just attacking those guys with those three pitches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Yankees have had success turning unheralded pitchers into major contributors under pitching coach Matt Blake, and the pitching department, under director Sam Briend, developed Luis Gil, who won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2024. But Gil has taken a couple of steps back since then, starting this season in the minors as he works to re-establish his once-ferocious fastball. Will Warren and Clarke Schmidt have also been recent success stories for the Yankees.<\/p>\n
But Schlittler has picked up where he left off after an impressive showing last year, including eight scoreless innings versus the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series.<\/p>\n
Severino was a dynamo when the Yankees first called him up in 2015, and he had stretches when the club imagined him leading the front of its rotation for the rest of his career. But injuries and ineffectiveness, particularly in 2023, drove him out of New York.<\/p>\n
Schlittler, the Yankees\u2019 seventh-round pick in 2022, looks like he has a chance to be the club\u2019s next homegrown star. Not even the Yankees saw it coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the level he\u2019s done it this early,\u201d Boone said, \u201cI don\u2019t know we could have predicted that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Picking up Aaron Judge<\/p>\n
Two of Aaron Judge\u2019s three hits have been home runs, and both came at key points in two victories. But he\u2019s struggled. Over 24 at-bats, he\u2019s hitting .125 (3-for-24) with 11 strikeouts and just one walk.<\/p>\n
An argument could be made that he\u2019s had a bit of bad luck: Seven of the balls he\u2019s put into play have been hit harder than 95 mph.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust early in the season,\u201d Boone said. \u201cA small stretch. Even for him, when it\u2019s not clicking at a level that we\u2019re accustomed to seeing all the time, he still had a major impact on two wins offensively, coupled with all the other things he brings to the table on defense and just in here in the dugout.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269443365-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt celebrate a series-clinching win over the Mariners. (Steph Chambers \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Fortunately for the Yankees, Rice and Giancarlo Stanton have stepped up in his place. Rice went 2-for-3 with an RBI double down the first-base line in the first inning Wednesday, and then he hammered a solo shot in the ninth inning to right-center field. He\u2019s reached base in all five games he\u2019s played, and he\u2019s hitting .412 (7-for-17).<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looks dialed in to me,\u201d Boone said.<\/p>\n
Stanton, who was given the day off Wednesday, has multiple hits in all five games he\u2019s played, and he\u2019s hitting .500 (10-for-20) with a home run.<\/p>\n
Cody Bellinger has also been solid (.286), and Paul Goldschmidt hit an encouraging three-run shot in the sixth inning Wednesday. It came off righty George Kirby\u2019s 96.5 mph fastball. Goldschmidt struggled versus righties and high velocity last season.<\/p>\n
ABS success<\/p>\n
By late Wednesday, the Yankees had the most successful Automated Ball-Strike system<\/a> challenges at 13, and the third-best conversion percentage at 81.3, behind the Baltimore Orioles (85.7 percent, 12-for-14) and the Kansas City Royals (83.3, 5-for-6). Their hitters have been responsible for eight balls flipped into strikes.<\/p>\nWhy have they been so good?<\/p>\n
\u201cOpportunity,\u201d Boone said. \u201cOur guys being, I think, good at it. I think we\u2019ve kind of established that we want to be aggressive with it. Smartly, but aggressive. That\u2019s how it played out a little bit in spring training. Again, not that that\u2019s everything. Guys, and especially veteran guys, are probably sampling it a little more than anything. Again, hopefully it\u2019s something we exploit in our favor and do a good job with. I think we will. But it is early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlos Rod\u00f3n update<\/p>\n
The Yankees believe the right hamstring tightness starting pitcher Carlos Rod\u00f3n felt Tuesday is \u201cminor,\u201d Boone said. But Rod\u00f3n will travel to see team trainers in New York before Friday\u2019s home opener. Boone said the Yankees hadn\u2019t scheduled any tests for Rod\u00f3n\u2019s hamstring, and he could start a rehab assignment soon. The left-hander has been on the injured list in Tampa rehabbing from offseason elbow surgery.<\/p>\n