As the 12th Husky to get a shot at the pros, right-handed pitcher Cam Schlittler made his Major League Baseball debut with the New York Yankees July 9.
Schlittler helped the Yankees earn the 9-6 win over the Seattle Mariners, striking out seven batters — the most by a Yankee since Jordan Montgomery’s debut in 2017 — in 5.1 innings. He allowed just three earned runs, all coming from the long ball.
His first MLB strikeout was with a 100 mph fastball, punching out the MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh in the first.
Schlittler received a standing ovation from Yankee Stadium crowd as he left the mound in the sixth inning. Some even compared his impressive performance to the Yankees’ injured ace, Gerrit Cole.
Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt was recently placed on the injured list and will be out for the rest of the season. Schlittler was called up to replace Schmidt in the rotation.
At Northeastern, Schlittler played from 2020 to 2022 before being selected by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB draft.
“He certainly did some really good things to put himself on the map last year,’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Daily Record. “He came into spring training and, I thought, did a really good job.’’
Schlittler’s career with the Huskies was impressive, with a career ERA of 2.62 in 182.0 innings. He struck out 180 batters and walked just 54.
The East Walpole, Massachusetts, native was named the CAA Rookie of the Year and a freshman All-American in 2021. He ranked eighth in ERA (3.53), 10th in wins (5) and third in strikeouts (85) in 2022.
In the minors, Schlittler made a combined 54 appearances for the Yankees’ organizations, including the AA Somerset Patriots and the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. With the RailRiders, he had a 3.80 ERA throughout 23.2 innings, posting a 2-1 record in five total games, striking out 35 and walking just one.
Northeastern baseball head coach Mike Glavine was at the Yankee Stadium for Schlittler’s debut, watching him take the bump.
“Definitely want to be a Yankee, it’s a dream come true,” Schlittler said in a post-game interview.
