This hidden Yankees pitching prospect is off to absurd start with Hudson Valley

The New York Yankees might have an emerging ‘under the radar’ stud prospect with their High-A affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades. Cam Schlittler retired the last 15 batters he faced on Sunday in his fourth start of the season.

He threw six innings and struck out seven, matching his career high for punchouts, while issuing no walks and allowing just two hits (both homers).

Sure, he’s 23 years old at High-A, but he’s also 6'6” and 210 pounds. You can’t develop intimidating height like that, right?

Yankees pitching prospect Cam Schlittler is emerging to start 2024 season

Drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 amateur draft (No. 220 overall), the Northeastern product is now 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in four starts covering 21.0 innings (just under 5 1/3 innings per start), with 26 strikeouts, a 0.81 WHIP and only a .113 batting average against. He’s allowed more walks (9) than hits (8)!

While he doesn’t get the accolades of top ranked Yankees pitching prospects Chase Hampton, Will Warren, Brock Selvidge and Henry Lalane, Schlittler is missing lots of bats to start the season.

Since making his professional debut in 2023, the lanky righty has made 17 starts and pitched 67 innings, with two promotions already under his belt. He misses bats, as evidenced by 76 strikeouts, and has only allowed 57 hits. Like with many young pitchers, control has been his issue to date: he’s issued just over four free passes per nine innings in his short career.

However, he’s tied for the sixth-most innings pitched in the South Atlantic League, holding the fourth-lowest ERA among starters, and both the second-lowest batting average against and WHIP. That should excite Yankees fans, as their highly ranked farm system continues to develop talent from deeper into the draft.

Given the shoulder discomfort of top Yankees pitching prospect Chase Hampton (or is it an elbow?), who’s yet to make his minor-league debut in 2024, the emergence of Schlittler is certainly welcome news (and more evidence of the team's pitching factory hard at work).

If he keeps mowing through the South Atlantic League like this, its only a matter of time before Schlittler finds a himself at Double-A with the Somerset Patriots and on the radar of the top prospect evaluators looking at the top 30 Yankees prospects.