New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone dropped a bombshell before Saturday’s game against the New York Mets when he announced that Clarke Schmidt will “likely” undergo Tommy John surgery. The news sent the Yankees, whose starting rotation is already depleted by injuries, scrambling for a backup plan that will likely result in a top prospect making his Major League debut next week.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported Saturday that the Yankees intend to promote pitching prospect Cam Schlittler to make his Major League starting debut either Tuesday or Wednesday at home against the Seattle Mariners. The team has yet to confirm or publicly announce the decision.
Schlittler, the Yankees’ No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. The 24-year-old was selected by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft and really broke out last season when he led all Yankees prospects in strikeouts (154 in 120 2/3 innings) and strikeout rate (30 percent) while posting a 3.36 ERA for High-A Hudson Valley.
Yankees plan to promote prospect Cam Schlittler after Clarke Schmidt diagnosis as pitching injuries pile up
The Yankees’ starting pitching has been in a bit of a fluid situation all season, ever since Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in the spring. Reigning American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil also has yet to pitch this season due to a lat injury, while Ryan Yarbrough is still out with a strained oblique.
Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Will Warren and Marcus Stroman are the remaining healthy members of New York’s starting rotation. Allan Winans could’ve returned ahead of schedule, seeing as the move is injury related, but the Yankees appear to have a higher-upside set of plans.
That leaves Schlittler as the Yankees’ next man up. Towering at 6-foot-6, the right-hander pitched well in his first four starts after getting promoted to Triple-A in early June before getting shelled for seven runs (six earned) in 2 1/3 innings last Wednesday in his worst start of the season.
The timing may not be ideal, but the Yankees will need Schlittler to return to his early season form this week when he makes his MLB debut. With Schmidt set to miss the rest of this season and likely all of next season as well, this call-up could serve as an audition of sorts for Schlittler as he looks to break into the big leagues on a more permanent basis in the coming years.
According to both Aaron Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake on Sunday, the Yankees have yet to make a final decision on Schlittler, who remains in the mix for a role this week. We’ll find out soon enough whether Sherman’s reporting was final.
