Cam Schlittler desires to construct on his rookie 12 months and add on it — actually.
The Yankees right-hander stated Wednesday that he’s hoping to both have a changeup or splitter for the 2026 season, however is leaning towards the previous.
Whereas boasting a five-pitch combine, Schlittler relied closely on his fastball and wielded it 55 p.c of the time throughout his rookie 12 months. Exterior of the heater, he primarily used a cutter (21 p.c) and curve (15 p.c) as his different choices.
“Including a changeup off a splitter, in all probability extra leaning towards a changeup, may be simpler for me,” Schlittler stated throughout an look on “Yankees Sizzling Range” on YES Community. “I feel that’s an essential pitch to incorporate as a result of I didn’t have that choice right down to lefties — and even righties as effectively.”
Schlittler stated he began throwing three weeks in the past and has begun to work on some grips and can actually ramp up in a number of weeks in Tampa.
When pressed on why he can be tinkering together with his pitch combine, Schlittler stated his fastball remains to be his power however {that a} changeup or splitter will assist him “neutralize” sure counts.
The Northeastern product turned a vibrant spot within the Yankees’ rotation in 2025, pitching to a 2.96 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 73 innings.
His 12-strikeout, eight-inning masterpiece within the deciding Recreation 3 of the wild-card sequence of the Crimson Sox proved to be one of many highs of not solely his season, however the Yankees’ 12 months as a complete.
A part of what helped him down the stretch was correcting a pitching-tipping situation that got here to a head throughout a Sept. 5 begin towards the Blue Jays during which 24 of his 66 pitches had been fouled off.
Because of some assist from the “guru” Gerrit Cole and lefty Carlos Rodon, Schlittler stated he modified how he got here to a set within the stretch with out pumping his glove. There was even an adjustment in October that he made to really guarantee he wasn’t making a gift of his choices.
“After I received to playoffs, I began pre-gripping a changeup — I don’t also have a changeup,” Schlittler stated. “So I began pre-gripping a changeup out of the windup, stretch simply to form of keep away from tinkering with one pitching or sitting on one.”
