From Bryan Hoch:
Cam Schlittler couldn’t sit still. Four hours before his Major League debut, the lanky right-hander was pacing the Yankees’ clubhouse like a man with a million thoughts and nowhere to put them.
Already wearing his game cap, a gray long-sleeved T-shirt and shorts, he kept returning to the same spot at his locker — tablet in hand, eyes locked upon video scouting reports — before rising for another slow lap. This wasn’t nerves. It was anticipation.
Schlittler harnessed that energy, walking off to a standing ovation after his seventh strikeout, stamping an exclamation point as he picked up the win in the Yankees’ 9-6 victory over the Mariners on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Normally, 5 and a third innings and three runs allowed wouldn’t merit a featured image, but for his first start in the Major Leagues, I thought Cam Schlittler was outstanding. That 100 MPH fastball was amazing, and he also had a generally strong approach overall. He didn’t pitch scared like, say, Will Warren.
Yes, the home runs he allowed were CRUSHED, which is not ideal, but in general, he looked really, really good. Good enough that even if they decide to keep Marcus Stroman as the #5 starter when Luis Gil returns from the injured list, I think Schlittler has earned a spot on the roster, as he could probably be a very valuable short man with those pitches. Sort of like Clarke Schmidt before he went back to the rotation (or Mike King before HE went back to the rotation). Imagine this dude coming in in the 7th inning, pumping 100 MPH gas by hitters?
Today, of course, is probably going to be remembered more for the fact that the Yankees DFAed DJ LeMahieu. It sounds like LeMahieu’s hip problems will just make it so that playing third base is not really something he can do anymore. He told the Yankees he’d be willing to try, but he couldn’t promise he’d be able to do it NOW, and so Cashman noted that that meant if they pinch-hit for Peraza late in a game, it would have to be JC Escarra coming in to play third base, and that’s not a good longterm solution, so LeMahieu is gone. He had a fine Yankee career (two top five MVP finishes), but, as Cash noted, his greatest value was being a super-utility guy, and now he CAN’T be a super-utility guy, so he has no real purpose here. Bette to have Jorbit Vivas who can at least play third once Peraza is pinch hit for.
Apparently JC Escarra WILL get a look at third base, which I think is a good idea.
The bullpen was a mixed bag in this one. Devin Williams looked AMAZING, and Luke Weaver also looked really good, but Lo was TERRIBLE. He gave up TWO two-run home runs, thus allowing Schlittler’s third run to score (5 1/3 innings, 2 runs sounds a whole lot better than 5 1/3 innings, 3 runs scored). Lo needs to step his shit up.
Featured image is Schlittler exiting to a standing ovation in the sixth.
The Athletic There may not be a player the Yankees are more defensive about than Anthony Volpe.
Cashman said yesterday Volpe is part of the solution. Ask Boone a critical question and he’ll likely be annoyed.
But a closer look at Volpe shows reason for concern ⬇️
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6484737/2025/07/10/anthony-volpe-yankees-year-3-brian-cashman/
Cashman was adamant that Volpe would “crush it offensively” the following season and that his struggles at the plate in 2023 were related to not getting much experience at Triple A.
But in Year 3, Volpe has regressed defensively and on the bases.
I think there’s some real legit and valid criticisms in the article, but Kirschner wrote it like a scumbag. Is Volpe’s OPS higher or lower this season than his first season and his second season? How in the FUCK does that just get handwaved away? It doesn’t even get ADDRESSED in the article. That’s how you go from a good piece of writing to a shitty piece of writing, by just ignoring stuff that doesn’t fit your argument.
Volpe’s minus-3 outs above average tied him with Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, his Yankees predecessor,
since his rookie season, Volpe has been one of MLB’s worst 20 hitters. His 86 wRC+ is the same as Kiner-Falefa’s since 2023
He’s currently a 1.3 bWAR player, and a 1.0 fWAR player.
Volpe is annoying as fuck, but batting 8th or 9th in the lineup, he’s not a problem on this team. Peraza’s 0.1 bWAR? Now THAT’s a problem.
I’m not arguing that peraza has been terrible so far but maybe if he played every single day for three years he’d be better.
If they do move Shlitty to the bullpen (for the playoffs for sure) they need to remember that he isn’t a one inning pitcher. With all these 5 inning starts by Rodon and now fried, this guy can easily go 6,7,8. Then again it’s one start so I need to calm down…
Yeah, I’m on the same page as Peraza. He might have been better at this point than Volpe if given regular playing time (or, like Volpe, given the chance to play literally every game forever no matter the results). We may never know. Certainly Peraza has not made the most of his limited opportunities.
It’s funny, back when they gave the job to Volpe I wanted Peraza to get it. Who knows how things would have played out, but maybe neither one is / was the answer.
Volpe is what he is, a Wayne Tolleson-type defensive-first shortstop with some pop. He’s never going to be the next Derek Jeter, obviously, and it does get old having Cashman et al defend him like he’s some crucial part of the team’s future. He’s not. He’s a good shortstop that can hit at the bottom of an otherwise strong lineup. Certainly he can be upgraded, but I get the feeling that’s not a priority right now.
RISP 2025 phenom 192/601, 2 out RISP 151/520, late and close 163/608. Sure his shortcomings are magnified by 3rd base being a black hole and if his hype didn’t exceed his talent nobody would notice.
phenoms ops+ is up every year, 81,86,90.
if you take out the torpedo bat weekend the ops drops 10 points.
there are so many young players that have performed that aren’t named bobby witt that i think it’s fair to ask what has gone wrong with the kid.
Sorry for DJLM. I liked him, which only made watching him suck beyond belief worse.
If he has some kind of success somewhere, I won’t begrudge him that in the least.
“It’s crazy how they just give up all that surplus value from Jazz at second by having Peraza at third.”
Didn’t I spend MONTHS saying this here?
I wonder how other teams value Volpe.
bag o’ baseballs
Judge DH, Trent, Rice and Jorbit play, Martian leadoff.
House money lineup
I wonder if Schlittler giving up those moonshots was because in the minors he could get away with things he can’t in the majors. Hopefully he learns
Can Escarra play short?
Meanwhile Lombard seems to have hit a brick wall in AA
He could be the lesser phenom
Is Schlitter’s future as a late inning reliever or can he sustain his velo for 7 innings?
Cole does, or used to