Bold statement: Schlittler isn’t content with last year’s thresholds—he’s pushing to raise the ceiling again in 2025. And this is where the plan gets interesting. After flashing triple-digit heat and emerging as a second-half force for the Yankees, the young right-hander is aiming to add a sixth pitch this winter, weighing a dreaded changeup or a splitter, as he shared on YES Network.
“I’m probably more leaning toward a changeup, which might be easier for me,” Schlittler said on Yankees Hot Stove. “I think that’s an important pitch to include, just because I didn’t have that option down to lefties, or even to righties as well.”
Schlittler, 24, finished his rookie season with a 4-3 record and a 2.96 ERA across 14 regular-season starts, recording 84 strikeouts against 31 walks in 73 innings while allowing 58 hits. His usage leaned heavily on the fastball (54.7%), supplemented by a cutter (20.8%), a curveball (14.9%), a sinker (7.2%), and a sweeper (2.4%).
He said he resumed throwing about three weeks ago, aiming for calm while experimenting with grip changes. In the coming weeks, he’ll ramp up at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, where the focus will shift toward this new pitch ahead of Spring Training.
New York plans to lean on Schlittler early in the season, especially with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt on the injured list while recovering from surgeries. At the outset, Schlittler would join Max Fried, Luis Gil, and Will Warren in the rotation, with Ryan Yarbrough also in the mix.
Yet even as he expands his toolkit, Schlittler isn’t ready to retire the heat. He averaged 98 mph on his fastball this past season, the highest mark among qualified Yankees. “Obviously, I throw hard and have a good fastball,” Schlittler said. “[I have] good three variations of fastballs, where that’s still my strength. I just think there will be certain situations where a changeup, splitter, whatever it is—it’s going to help me neutralize some counts when I get deep into it.”
Schlittler’s rookie year offered early proof of his ability to adjust. His roughest outing came on Sept. 5 against the Blue Jays, when he was touched for 24 foul balls and pulled in the second inning. The Yankees identified a tipping issue in his pitches. Pitching partners Cole and Rodón helped him correct the problem by altering his stretch setup without pumping his glove—an adjustment Schlittler didn’t see coming.
“I started pre-gripping a changeup. I don’t even have a changeup,” Schlittler said. “So I started pre-gripping a changeup out of the windup and stretch, just to kind of avoid tinkering too much with one pitch or sitting on one.”
This experience underscored the value of the environment he now enters every day. “You’ve got Hall of Famers in there, Cy Young winners,” Schlittler said. “I have a lot of resources to go talk to these people, where I’m just trying to get better. They want me to get better, because we just want to win games.”
Would adding a changeup or splitter redefine Schlittler’s ceiling in 2025, or would relying on his high-velocity fastball remain the optimal path? What are your thoughts on the risks and benefits of expanding a rookie pitcher’s repertoire this early in their career?
