Cam Schlittler Wins AL Cy Young Award

New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler was named the unanimous winner of the 2026 American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, November 11, collecting all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America for the maximum 210 points. The 25-year-old became the seventh Yankees pitcher to claim the award and the third to do so unanimously, joining Ron Guidry in 1978 and Gerrit Cole in 2023. Toronto Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease finished a distant second with 110 points, followed by Cleveland Guardians left-hander Parker Messick at 84 and Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen at 72. All four pitchers appeared on every ballot, reflecting a clear consensus at the top and a tighter spread among the runners-up.

Schlittler's case rested on a rare combination of run prevention, workload and consistency across his first full major-league season. He led the American League with a 1.95 earned run average over 193⁄⁄ innings and 33 starts, striking out 239 batters while posting a 0.92 WHIP. Most strikingly, he allowed one run or fewer in 21 of his 33 starts, the highest total in the majors, and held opponents to three runs or fewer in 29 outings, tying Whitey Ford, Stan Bahnsen and Mel Stottlemyre for third-most in a single season in franchise history behind Jack Chesbro's 40 in 1904 and Guidry's 30 in 1978. His 1.95 ERA ranks as the third-lowest by a qualified Yankees starter, trailing only Spud Chandler's 1.64 in 1943 and Guidry's 1.74 in 1978. The right-hander also went at least six innings in 20 starts, tied for third in the AL, and allowed four hits or fewer in 23 starts, tied for the major-league lead.

The award caps a meteoric rise for a pitcher drafted in the seventh round out of Northeastern University in 2022. When he debuted on July 9, 2025, Schlittler lived in the low-90s with a four-seam fastball; by 2026 he had added a cutter, leaned more heavily on a sinker and developed a curveball that became nearly as devastating as his triple-digit heat. His average fastball velocity sat in the 94th percentile league-wide, while his fastball run value graded in the 100th percentile. General manager Brian Cashman credited Schlittler's buy-in to the organization's strength-and-conditioning and pitch-design programs, calling the velocity gains beyond any internal projection. Manager Aaron Boone described him as the league's best pitcher and a potential MVP candidate, noting the Yankees went 21-12 in his starts despite an offense that frequently struggled to support him.

Since his debut, Schlittler has posted a 2.23 ERA over 47 starts, tying Sandy Alcantara and Cristopher Sánchez for the most in the majors during that span, with the third-best strikeout rate at 30.3 percent. He has also excelled in October, going 2-2 with a 1.44 ERA in four playoff appearances, including a dominant outing against the Red Sox in the 2026 Wild Card Series. The Cy Young ballots were submitted before the postseason, meaning the award reflects only his regular-season body of work. Schlittler told MLB Network he is already preparing to handle a similar workload in 2027, emphasizing that the ultimate goal remains a championship. With Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón commanding a combined $704 million in rotation salaries, the Yankees' most dominant starter in 2026 was a 25-year-old former seventh-round pick who continues to expand his arsenal.