Cam Schlittler had one bad outing and the regression conversation started immediately. He did not appreciate it. And after his response start against the Rays, nobody should be talking about regression anymore.
The Yankees rookie went eight innings at Tropicana Field, allowed one earned run on four hits, walked nobody, and struck out eight in a 5-1 win. That is an ace-level performance in a division game against a team that always plays the Yankees tough. It also came exactly when Schlittler needed it to come.
His previous outing was ugly. Six earned runs on seven hits in four innings against the Tigers at Yankee Stadium on June 30, in a 9-3 loss. One rough afternoon after months of dominance was all it took for the noise to start.
Schlittler heard it, and he had something to say afterward.
“They want to say there’s f—ing regression because I have one bad outing, so again, it was personal to go out there and have a dominant start and put this team in the right position,” Schlittler told Greg Joyce of the New York Post.
That is the mentality the Yankees need from their young starter. There is a version of Schlittler that hears the doubt, tightens up, and pitches scared. Instead he took it personally, went into Tampa, and shoved.
The numbers he has put together are staggering. Through 19 starts he has a 2.01 ERA and a 2.58 FIP. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, that is the lowest ERA by any Yankees pitcher through 19 starts since Phil Niekro posted a 1.88 in 1984. Niekro is in the Hall of Fame. That is the kind of company we are talking about.
So when Schlittler bristles at regression talk, he has every right to. He has done nothing all year to suggest that one bad outing was the start of a slide. He was punished on balls in play in that Tigers start. That happens. It does not mean the wheels are coming off.
What matters more is how he responded. Great pitchers get hit sometimes. What separates them is what happens the next time they take the ball. Schlittler took the ball five days later and delivered an eight-inning gem against a division rival on the road. That is the answer.
The Yankees have needed this kind of rotation stability for years. Gerrit Cole has been in and out of health. The back end of the rotation has been a rotating cast. Having a young starter who can carry an ace-level workload and refuses to be intimidated by expectations is a massive development.
Schlittler is 24 years old and pitching like a Cy Young candidate. He has the fastball, the secondaries, and now clearly the mindset. There is nothing about his profile that suggests he is due for a collapse.
The regression talk will keep coming. That is baseball media, that is how it works. Every young pitcher eventually gets the “when does he come back to earth” treatment. Schlittler has already shown how he plans to handle it.
Take it personally, take the ball, and go win a game. The Yankees have their guy.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
