The new pitch making Cam Schlittler even nastier, tell me about this news today
04-10-2026
The pitch making New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler even nastier is his revamped curveball.
MLB.comSchlittler has built his reputation on overwhelming, high-octane velocityleaning heavily on a four-seam fastball touching 99 mph alongside a hard cutter and sinker. Anticipating his heavy fastball usage, opponents like the Boston Red Sox specifically tuned Trajekt pitching machines to gear up for high heat ahead of their postseason matchup.
MLB.com+ 1Instead, Schlittler dismantled their game plan by unleashing his newly sharpened breaking ball:
Yanks Go YardHeavy, Unpredictable Usage: In his dominant Game 1 start against the Red Sox, Schlittler threw a career-high 32 curveballs (accounting for 27% of his 117 total pitches), throwing it more often than his sinker and cutter combined.
Yanks Go YardDevastating Whiff Rates: He generated an elite 50% whiff rate on the pitch (8 whiffs on 16 swings), which accounted for 4 of his 10 strikeouts on the night.
Yanks Go YardUpgraded Metrics: Rather than a slow, looping change of pace, his curveball has gained velocity over the seasonaveraging 85.8 mph in the postseason while maintaining roughly 48.7 inches of vertical drop.
MLB.comTunnels & Spin Mirroring: Thrown at nearly 86 mph, the curve tunnels seamlessly out of his hand, mirroring the spin axis and release profile of his upper-90s four-seamer before dropping off the table. Hitters forced to gear up early for 99 mph are left completely helpless when a sharp, mid-80s breaking ball drops beneath the zone.
MLB.com
By pairing pinpoint command and wipeout break on the curveball with his existing elite velocity, Schlittler has evolved from a pure flamethrower into a genuine top-of-the-rotation postseason nightmare.