The Yankees have a pretty clean answer staring them in the face for Game 1 of the playoffs: Cam Schlittler.
That’s the case the numbers make, and it’s the case the season makes. Schlittler has been the best pitcher on the roster, and in a postseason series that opens with only one game to set the tone, the Yankees should be putting their top arm on the mound right away.
Harold Reynolds took the other side on MLB Network on Monday, saying Gerrit Cole should get the ball instead. His logic was straightforward.
Cole has been the club’s established ace for years, and Reynolds said that in a three-game series, that alone should make him Game 1. He added, "One, he's the alpha male.
I'm just throwing that out there. I think it's Gerrit Cole's team.
He's starting game one. Here's the other thought behind it.
If Schlittler is my best pitcher, I know he's gonna win. If I can steal game one with Gerrit Cole, the series is over in Game 2."
But that approach asks the Yankees to treat Game 1 like a sacrifice, and that’s not how the other contenders are operating. The Dodgers are going with Tarik Skubal in Game 1.
Gavin Williams will likely get the nod for the Guardians. Those clubs are lining up their best starters to win the opener, not trying to stash them for later.
The same should hold true in New York, especially with Schlittler’s workload value in mind. If he starts Game 1, he’s also positioned to come back again in a five-game series.
If the Yankees push him to Game 2, then a potential Game 5 on short rest gets messier. And if that scenario comes up, it would be a spot Schlittler has never faced in his career.
The simplest argument is the strongest one: Schlittler’s season has earned him the assignment.
The 25-year-old owns a 14-6 record with a 1.95 ERA in 31 starts. He has held hitters to a .185 average, punched out 228 batters in 184.2 innings for a 31.6% strikeout rate, and limited hard contact with a 39.2% hard-hit rate. Those are the numbers of a pitcher who has been dominant from start to finish.
That production has put Schlittler in the AL Cy Young conversation, and he’ll likely also be in the mix for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. The source even points out that recent winners of that distinction included Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw, pitchers who would not be pushed to Game 2 in a postseason series.
Aaron Boone has had plenty of difficult decisions because of the injuries that have hit his roster. This one should be the easiest.
Schlittler is the Yankees’ best pitcher, he’s been one of the most valuable arms in the league, and he already has postseason experience after his Wild Card start against Boston. That outing was described as legendary, and there’s no reason to think he can’t deliver again.
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The question now is whether the Yankees can trust the rest of his game when the games get bigger. Lombard has been inconsistent defensively, with multiple errors and even a six-game stretch in August where he misfired every night, but Aaron Boone has stayed publicly confident in his long-term potential. For a team heading into October, that leaves one familiar Yankees dilemma hanging in the air: how much runway do they give a rookie whose talent is obvious, even if the mistakes have not gone away? [Read more 🡒]
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The appeal is obvious: when healthy, the Yankees can lean on a pitching staff and offense that executives believe can match up with anyone. Aaron Judge remains the headliner, and Cam Schlittler is among the names tied to the clubs upside, but the bigger question is whether New York can finally get enough of its key pieces on the field when October arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Have A Rafael Devers Idea Fans Can't Ignore
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For the Yankees, the appeal goes beyond star power. There is a path to making the roster work with some positional shuffling, and the contract situation matters just as much as the production, especially with payroll always part of the equation in New York. The timing could also push the conversation forward quickly, since any major move before a projected lockout and a new collective bargaining agreement would give a front office less room to wait and see. [Read more 🡒]