With the All-Star Game less than a month away, Cam Schlittler is well past the point of earning an appearance in the exhibition.<\/p>\n
At this stage, the only thing left to decide is whether or not the Yankees\u2019 young right-hander will start for the American League in Philadelphia on July 14. And even that doesn\u2019t seem like much of a debate right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that would be pretty cool to see him out there pitching in the All-Star Game knowing that he\u2019s one of the best pitchers in the world,\u201d Jazz Chisholm Jr. said Friday night. \u201cI think he should actually start the All-Star Game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chisholm said that after Schlittler spun yet another gem, holding the middling Reds to four hits, a hit-by-pitch and zero walks over six scoreless innings in a 5-0 win for the Yankees. With his three fastballs generating 18 whiffs on 49 swings and 96 pitches, Schlittler set a new career-high with 13 strikeouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was feeling it tonight,\u201d Aaron Boone said before adding that Schlitter was \u201con top of his game\u201d with \u201celectric\u201d stuff.<\/p>\n
At 25 years and 134 days old, Schlittler became the youngest pitcher in Yankees history with 13 or more strikeouts and no walks in a game, per MLB.com\u2019s Sarah Langs<\/a>. Meanwhile, his 1.71 ERA is the lowest by a Yankees pitcher in his first 16 starts of a season since Whitey Ford posted a 1.47 ERA in 1964.<\/p>\n Schlittler\u2019s 2.25 career ERA is the lowest for a Yankees pitcher whose first 30 games were all starts. That\u2019s also the third-lowest ERA by an MLB pitcher since 1913, trailing only Jos\u00e9 Fern\u00e1ndez (2.09 ERA) & Paul Skenes (2.15 ERA).<\/p>\n A standing ovation for @Cam31Schlittler<\/a> after a career-high 13 Ks \ud83d\udc4f#RepBX<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/UbI5VKi5Uu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Friday\u2019s outing earned Schlittler a rousing standing ovation upon his exit, as his 13 punchies outdid the 12 he recorded against the Red Sox in Game 3 of last year\u2019s Wild Card Series, the performance that first thrust the former seventh-round pick beneath the national spotlight<\/a>. Now Schlittler has a chance to command it yet again, as he\u2019s made a more-than-compelling argument to start the Midsummer Classic in a few weeks.<\/p>\n Schlittler agrees with that \u2014 \u201cI think I\u2019ve made a good case for it,\u201d he acknowledged \u2014 but he swears it\u2019s not at the forefront of his thoughts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not really a concern right now,\u201d Schlittler said. \u201cMy concern\u2019s really just staying healthy and making consistent starts, and if that\u2019s something that I get the opportunity to do, then great.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be cool. It\u2019s just I\u2019m more worried about winning games. You want to be an All-Star, right? Like that\u2019s something that\u2019s a hard thing to do. You have conversations with a lot of the older guys in this locker room, and you know how tough it is to be an All-Star. It would be fun to get that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n While there is still time for things to change \u2014 including stats and pitcher scheduling \u2014 Schlittler now has an 8-3 record to go with 18 walks, 109 strikeouts and a 2.11 FIP over 95 innings. Only two starters in the American League, Chicago\u2019s Davis Martin and Cleveland\u2019s Gavin Williams, have more wins (9), and nobody in the league has a better ERA.<\/p>\n Schlittler is also currently pacing the Junior Circuit in strikeouts and FIP, and the 3.2 fWAR he took into Friday\u2019s dazzling effort easily led the rest of the league. The Angels\u2019 Reid Detmers (2.8) and the Twins\u2019 Joe Ryan (2.6) were the next-closest AL starters in fWAR.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we can all say he\u2019s probably been the best or one of the best pitchers in the league and in the sport,\u201d Boone said when asked about Schlittler potentially starting the All-Star Game. \u201cThere\u2019s all kinds of things that go into that, and that\u2019s still a few weeks away, so we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can make the case that he\u2019s been the best pitcher in the American League right now, so I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be in that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if Detmers, Ryan, Martin, Williams or someone else were to close the statistical gap in the coming weeks \u2014 Cleveland\u2019s Parker Messick and Tampa Bay\u2019s Drew Rasmussen are among others having brilliant seasons \u2014 none of those names would bring the fanfare that Schlitter would. If the outspoken and confident Yankee were to get the nod, the first inning \u2014 which could also feature Brewers wunderkind Jacob Misiorowski or the Phillies\u2019 Cristopher S\u00e1nchez in a hometown setting \u2014 would be appointment viewing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not really on my mind,\u201d Schlittler reiterated. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to put the pieces together right now and trying to stay healthy, at least until the All-Star break.\u201d<\/p>\n To be clear, Schlittler has made a merit-based case, first and foremost.<\/p>\n If he can continue to do that, the sophomore sensation\u2019s first All-Star nod could come with a start. And who knows, there could even be a significant award waiting at the end of Schlittler\u2019s first full season, a possibility that was raised by none other than Knicks star Josh Hart on Friday night.<\/p>\n \u201cSchlitty is the Cy Young winner hands down,\u201d the recently-crowned NBA Finals winner tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n Told about that, Schlittler couldn\u2019t help but smile. He spoke to Hart after one of the Knicks\u2019 early playoff games, and the basketball player made an appearance at Yankee Stadium alongside teammate Jalen Brunson on Wednesday before parading the NBA\u2019s Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy down the Canyon of Heroes<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n On Friday, that was the type of hardware that Schlittler had his sights set on.<\/p>\n \u201cWould that be cool to get? For sure,\u201d Schlittler said of a Cy Young. \u201cI\u2019d rather have a championship over that, but all I can do is piece together good starts, good months, and put this team in a position to win the division. So when it comes to that stuff, it\u2019s really not on my mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of respect for Josh for them being able to do that. The city hasn\u2019t seen a championship in a long time, so I\u2019m pumped for those guys, and now it\u2019s our turn. There\u2019s a lot of guys in here that have a shit-ton of accolades. Some guys are missing that World Series, and that\u2019s the biggest priority. So when I look at what my goals are, it\u2019s winning a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t