Cam Schlittler has gone from a strong Cy Young candidate to the clear name at the top of the board.
A new MLB.com poll made that even harder to ignore. In Jared Greenspan’s 32-expert vote, every single ballot went to Schlittler for AL Cy Young. Greenspan listed it this way: "1) Cam Schlittler, Yankees (160 total points; 32 first-place votes),"
That kind of sweep leaves little room for debate, even if the official award still hasn’t been handed out. Schlittler is in a real fight with Dylan Cease for the hardware, but this poll points squarely in one direction.
The numbers back up the buzz. The second-year Yankees right-hander has made 31 starts and put together a 1.96 ERA with a 14-6 record. He’s also piled up 7.0 bWAR, struck out 228 batters, and logged 184.2 innings.
He doesn’t have the 200-plus innings that some past Cy Young winners have carried, but his case hardly needs that extra layer. His 216 ERA+ leads the American League, and that kind of run prevention has separated him from the pack.
Jacob Misiorowski is the only other pitcher who can really stack up with Schlittler’s overall season, though the Milwaukee Brewers ace is not in position to challenge him for this award.
So while the Yankees are chasing the AL East and a top Wild Card spot, their ace is staring at a different prize. Based on the poll, Schlittler looks very much like the AL Cy Young winner-in-waiting.
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