NEW YORK — A year ago, Cam Schlittler was a name known mostly to Yankees prospect watchers and the scouts who track Double-A arms. Now he is the name atop the American League’s biggest individual award race.
The rookie right-hander has spent 2026 turning a rotation built on bigger reputations into his own showcase. While Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon fought back from surgery, Schlittler simply pitched, and pitched, and left little room for argument.
The Yankees have needed every inning. Their offense has cratered for two months, forcing the pitching staff to win low-scoring games almost nightly. Schlittler has been the arm the Yankees lean on hardest, and the industry has taken notice.
That recognition now has a scoreboard of its own.
Schlittler pulls clear in the AL race
MLB.com released its fifth Cy Young poll of the season this week, and Schlittler sits atop the American League field. He drew 165 points and 25 first-place votes from the 35 experts who took part, opening a clear lead over the pack.
The gap over second place is real but not unassailable. Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease finished with 148 points and 10 first-place votes, keeping the race closer than a runaway.
Schlittler’s case rests on a stat line that leads the league in several key places. His 2.16 ERA is the best in the AL. So are his 152 innings and his 5.1 bWAR. His 0.94 WHIP sits just off the league lead, and his .196 opponents’ average ranks second.
The consistency is what stands out for the Yankees. Schlittler has allowed more than three earned runs just three times all season. He has given up one run or none in 18 of his 26 starts, a level of reliability that has carried a flawed roster.
Cease keeps the pressure on
Cease is the reason the AL race is not already over. The Toronto ace has been the best strikeout pitcher in the league, and it is not close.
His 201 strikeouts lead the AL, and his 13.14 strikeouts per nine innings top all qualified starters in the league. He also limits damage, carrying a 2.42 ERA that trails only Schlittler.
Cease has surged at the right time. Since July 3, he has posted a 1.49 ERA across eight starts, a stretch that has kept him within striking distance of the lead.
Cease got the better of the Yankees in his most recent look at them, striking out 10 over 6 1/3 innings on Sunday, though he left with a no-decision in a game New York won 4-3 in 10 innings. Schlittler, who pitched the day before, held Toronto to one run over 5 1/3 innings and struck out seven in a 4-1 loss.
The chasing pack fills out the ballot
Behind the top two, several arms have built cases worth noting. The poll asked voters to rank five pitchers, and the middle of the AL ballot reflects a strong year for the position.
Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen ranked third with 79 points. No qualified AL starter has kept runners off base better. His 0.91 WHIP leads the league, built on just 23 walks all season, and he owns a 1.20 ERA over his past five starts.
Guardians lefty Parker Messick placed fourth with 54 points. He is chasing both Cy Young and Rookie of the Year honors, backed by a 2.59 ERA that ranks third in the AL and a 1.96 mark since July 4.
Red Sox veteran Sonny Gray rounded out the top five with 41 points. His 15 wins rank second in the majors, his 2.65 ERA is fourth in the AL, and Boston has gone 17-6 in his starts.
The ballot ran deeper still. Nick Martinez of the Rays, Gavin Williams of the Guardians, Sean Burke of the White Sox, Logan Gilbert of the Mariners, Payton Tolle of the Red Sox, Bryan Baker of the Rays, Louis Varland of the Blue Jays and Reid Detmers of the Angels all received votes.
What a Schlittler award would mean for Yankees
A rookie ending it would be the rarest kind of breakthrough. First-year Yankees pitchers almost never win the award, which makes Schlittler’s season all the more striking for a Yankees club that did not see it coming. No Yankees fan penciled his name into this race in March.
The timing matters, too. The Yankees sit 69-55, second in the AL East and holding a wild-card position, kept afloat largely by the rotation Schlittler now fronts. His starts have become the surest thing on the schedule.
There is still time for the race to shift. The National League picture looks locked, with Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski a unanimous choice atop that field. The American League allows for more doubt, and Cease has the strikeout profile to close ground if Schlittler stumbles.
For now, the lead belongs to the rookie. Six weeks remain for Schlittler to hold it, and the Yankees will hand him the ball every fifth day hoping he does. The award that has eluded them for a quarter century has never looked closer.
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