Former Husky pitcher Cam Schlittler primed for 2026 All-Star Game
The Yankee right-hander’s arsenal of wipeout fastballs has made him one of the best pitchers in baseball this season.
The 6-foot-6 pitcher wearing New York Yankees pinstripes rears back, steps gently down the mound and slings a 100-mph fastball that bends to the side at the last moment. Strike three.
Such has been the fate of 118 MLB hitters in 2026 who have faced Cam Schlittler, a former Northeastern University Husky who now approaches the midseason All-Star break as the best pitcher in the American League, according to the statistics. Though much of the baseball world has already crowned him as the de facto All-Star Game starter, the official voting results will be revealed on Saturday.
Schlittler, a native of Walpole, Massachusetts, who played for Northeastern from 2020 to 2022, has found success with his elite pitching formula during his second season in professional baseball. He leads the league in a long list of statistics frequently used by baseball analysts to measure success, including strikeout rate, Earned Run Average (ERA) and Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
“I’m seeing pure dominance right now,” said Mike Glavine, head coach of the Northeastern Huskies and former mentor of the 25-year-old right-handed pitcher. “There’s some sneaky deception to what he does … he makes it look kind of easy.”
Schlittler has started the most games of any pitcher in the American League with 17, owns the highest strikeout-to-walk ratio at 5.90, has conceded the fewest home runs per nine innings at 0.5, and is the best at preventing runs that don’t involve other fielders, according to Baseball Reference, a leading statistical resource.
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When hitters do make contact off Schlittler, the ball leaves the bat at an average velocity slower than 95% of all hit balls in the league, according to Baseball Savant.
During his start on June 25 against his hometown Red Sox, Schlittler lowered his ERA from 1.71 to 1.62, the second-lowest rating for a Yankee through his first 17 starts since the stat was created in 1913, according to Elias Sport Bureau, MLB reported.
“I think he can make the case that he’s been the best pitcher in the American League,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told The Athletic.
Schlittler was not available to provide comment for this story, a Yankees spokesperson told Northeastern Global News.
The key to Schlittler’s success in 2026 lies in his pitch selection, according to Kevin Cobb, Northeastern Huskies associate head coach and pitching coach. He boasts a trio of wipe-you-out fastballs topping out near or above 100 mph that seem to originate from precisely the same location before bending to the left, right or, mystically, upward as they reach the plate, Cobb said.
“When you create three different variations, coming out of the same plane, I think it’s really challenging for hitters to change and adapt to that,” Cobb said.
As Schlittler honed this three-headed arsenal, he also reduced his reliance on his “offspeed” pitches 一 which are slower and move further from their originating point 一 including a curveball and slider that in 2026 were virtually eliminated from his mix, according to his statistics. While his usage of his fast-moving cutter and sinker increased from 2025 to 2026, Schlittler’s curveball usage dropped from 15% to 7% and his slider from 6% to just 2%, according to Baseball Savant.
The former Husky throws the highest percentage of fastballs in the league at 91.7%, as shown on Baseball Savant. The pitcher who throws the next highest number, the Tampa Bay Rays’ Drew Rasmussen, does so just 80.3% of the time.
Starting pitchers typically use a full suite of pitch types to fool hitters expecting something faster into swinging early. But Glavine said until major league batters begin hitting Schlittler’s fastballs, he has no reason to change his strategy.
“The proof is obviously in the statistics and the success that he’s had,” Glavine said. “I think you’ll continue to see limited use of that curveball, slider, sweeper until he’s forced to make an adjustment on his own.”
2026 Starting Pitcher Fastball Usage
Cam Schlittler's 91.7% fastball rate stands out among MLB starters.
| Fastball % | Total Pitches | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 91.7 | 1538 | Cam Schlittler |
| 80.3 | 1406 | Drew Rasmussen |
| 75.4 | 1477 | Jacob Misiorowski |
| 71.1 | 1504 | Tanner Bibee |
| 72.7 | 1448 | Slade Cecconi |
| 72 | 1448 | Taj Bradley |
| 73.3 | 1421 | Emerson Hancock |
| 64.2 | 1504 | Nolan McLean |
| 67.3 | 1426 | Will Warren |
| 59.4 | 1591 | Foster Griffin |
| 57.1 | 1653 | Sandy Alcantara |
| 63.7 | 1463 | Bryce Elder |
| 67 | 1386 | Bryan Woo |
| 88.7 | 1039 | Payton Tolle |
| 59.1 | 1544 | MacKenzie Gore |
| 70.2 | 1297 | Ryne Nelson |
| 60.2 | 1508 | Eduardo Rodriguez |
| 58.8 | 1543 | Shane Baz |
| 57.5 | 1571 | Michael Wacha |
| 64 | 1385 | VáRandy squez |
| 65.9 | 1321 | Trevor Rogers |
| 66.8 | 1300 | Ranger Suarez |
| 56 | 1530 | Joe Ryan |
| 65.9 | 1295 | Dustin May |
| 56.6 | 1506 | Mitch Keller |
| 52.8 | 1608 | Freddy Peralta |
| 60 | 1396 | J Ginn.T. |
| 56.2 | 1482 | Chase Burns |
| 56.4 | 1467 | Parker Messick |
| 53.4 | 1548 | Landen Roupp |
| 62 | 1328 | Nick Martinez |
| 55.4 | 1468 | Connelly Early |
| 51.9 | 1567 | Kevin Gausman |
| 51.5 | 1575 | Kyle Bradish |
| 50.2 | 1615 | Gavin Williams |
| 55.9 | 1450 | Davis Martin |
| 54 | 1483 | George Kirby |
| 57.4 | 1393 | Brady Singer |
| 61.3 | 1301 | Walker Buehler |
| 49.7 | 1605 | Jos Sorianoé |
| 60.3 | 1316 | Kyle Harrison |
| 66.9 | 1174 | Aaron Civale |
| 52.2 | 1495 | Anthony Kay |
| 50.3 | 1552 | Paul Skenes |
| 55.6 | 1397 | Jack Leiter |
| 53.3 | 1456 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto |
| 48.5 | 1564 | Michael King |
| 52.8 | 1433 | Aaron Nola |
| 50.6 | 1492 | Michael Lorenzen |
| 53.3 | 1411 | Michael McGreevy |
| 63.1 | 1178 | Brandon Sproat |
| 51.9 | 1432 | Seth Lugo |
| 47.3 | 1567 | Andrew Abbott |
| 46.3 | 1596 | Logan Gilbert |
| 45.8 | 1610 | Reid Detmers |
| 53.1 | 1387 | Jack Flaherty |
| 51.2 | 1436 | Cade Cavalli |
| 55.8 | 1312 | Logan Webb |
| 63.6 | 1149 | Zack Wheeler |
| 47.9 | 1523 | Framber Valdez |
| 52.5 | 1384 | Luis Castillo |
| 44.7 | 1621 | Robbie Ray |
| 58.7 | 1231 | Sonny Gray |
| 65.7 | 1086 | Luis Severino |
| 49.2 | 1448 | Andre Pallante |
| 50 | 1417 | Shota Imanaga |
| 52.1 | 1358 | Bubba Chandler |
| 42.7 | 1645 | Jes Luzardoús |
| 50.8 | 1383 | Tomoyuki Sugano |
| 43.2 | 1625 | SáCristopher nchez |
| 54.3 | 1290 | Michael Soroka |
| 48.3 | 1445 | Chris Sale |
| 51 | 1367 | Noah Cameron |
| 45.3 | 1499 | Dylan Cease |
| 55 | 1233 | Justin Wrobleski |
| 58.9 | 1148 | Adrian Houser |
| 45.2 | 1491 | Jeffrey Springs |
| 60.2 | 1111 | Jack Kochanowicz |
| 64.4 | 1037 | Tyler Mahle |
| 51.3 | 1297 | Merrill Kelly |
| 49 | 1350 | Kumar Rocker |
| 46.6 | 1412 | Braxton Ashcraft |
| 53.9 | 1218 | Patrick Corbin |
| 47.3 | 1384 | Ryan Weathers |
| 52.3 | 1242 | Keider Montero |
| 46.1 | 1407 | Colin Rea |
| 56.9 | 1133 | Jameson Taillon |
| 44.1 | 1437 | Jacob deGrom |
| 42 | 1471 | Nathan Eovaldi |
| 54.3 | 1132 | PéEury rez |
| 46.2 | 1326 | Matthew Liberatore |
| 42.1 | 1455 | Zac Gallen |
| 41.9 | 1464 | Joey Cantillo |
| 50.7 | 1202 | Kyle Freeland |
| 42.6 | 1427 | Sean Burke |
| 53 | 1145 | Brandon Young |
| 53.2 | 1122 | PéMart rezín |
| 48.9 | 1220 | UreñWalbert a |
| 62.2 | 949 | Jake Irvin |
| 46.5 | 1259 | Grant Holmes |
| 41.8 | 1396 | Mike Burrows |
| 69.8 | 828 | Christian Scott |
| 51 | 1130 | Peter Lambert |
| 42 | 1354 | Kyle Leahy |
| 46.1 | 1225 | Shohei Ohtani |
| 61.3 | 917 | Max Fried |
| 45.2 | 1220 | Spencer Arrighetti |
| 43.2 | 1271 | Emmet Sheehan |
| 43.5 | 1256 | Roki Sasaki |
| 34.3 | 1559 | Max Meyer |
| 52.7 | 1013 | Rhett Lowder |
| 53.6 | 979 | Chris Bassitt |
| 52.7 | 979 | Jacob Lopez |
| 59.5 | 849 | Trevor McDonald |
| 56.1 | 886 | Tarik Skubal |
| 47.9 | 1035 | Eric Lauer |
| 58.6 | 828 | RodóCarlos n |
| 61.2 | 787 | Stephen Kolek |
| 57.6 | 828 | Clay Holmes |
| 44.1 | 1049 | Brayan Bello |
| 38.2 | 1203 | Edward Cabrera |
| 69.5 | 652 | Noah Schultz |
| 45.3 | 988 | Trey Yesavage |
| 37.4 | 1186 | Shane McClanahan |
| 53.8 | 812 | Kris Bubic |
| 49.4 | 882 | Tatsuya Imai |
| 74.4 | 582 | Brandon Woodruff |
| 37.9 | 1141 | Andrew Painter |
| 40 | 1074 | Connor Prielipp |
| 80.7 | 518 | Garrett Crochet |
| 50.7 | 816 | Nick Lodolo |
| 39.1 | 1035 | Chad Patrick |
| 45.2 | 880 | Casey Mize |
| 42 | 947 | Chris Paddack |
| 31.4 | 1256 | Carmen Mlodzinski |
| 52.5 | 753 | Zebby Matthews |
| 61.7 | 639 | Cole Ragans |
| 29.9 | 1280 | Zack Littell |
| 41.1 | 918 | Steven Matz |
| 31.2 | 1208 | David Peterson |
| 54 | 696 | McCullers Jr., Lance |
| 49.5 | 750 | Javier Assad |
| 35.6 | 1010 | Woods Simeon Richardson |
| 34.9 | 1032 | Bailey Ober |
| 56.2 | 628 | Kodai Senga |
| 64.7 | 533 | Robert Gasser |
| 35.8 | 956 | Janson Junk |
| 48.8 | 690 | Jose Quintana |
| 33.6 | 1004 | Ben Brown |
| 64.6 | 522 | Troy Melton |
| 47.6 | 691 | Spencer Strider |
| 25.2 | 1300 | Erick Fedde |
| 54 | 604 | Tyler Glasnow |
| 60.3 | 541 | Trey Gibson |
| 30.3 | 1074 | Kai Teng-Wei |
| 39.2 | 824 | Ryan Feltner |
| 64 | 486 | Jake Bennett |
| 47.4 | 652 | Bryce Miller |
| 42.2 | 714 | JR Ritchie |
| 57.5 | 518 | Brandon Williamson |
| 35 | 846 | Griffin Jax |
| 34.8 | 847 | Shane Drohan |
| 32.5 | 892 | Luinder Avila |
| 62.6 | 460 | Hunter Brown |
| 48.8 | 586 | Gerrit Cole |
| 48.7 | 548 | Gage Jump |
| 34.9 | 762 | Griffin Canning |
| 52.9 | 499 | Grayson Rodriguez |
| 51.2 | 506 | Matthew Boyd |
| 45.3 | 567 | Yusei Kikuchi |
| 48.1 | 501 | MáGerm rquezán |
| 45.4 | 522 | Sam Aldegheri |
| 28.9 | 820 | LóReynaldo pez |
| 64.4 | 354 | Logan Henderson |
| 18.2 | 1217 | Miles Mikolas |
| 64.5 | 318 | RodríElmer guez |
| 48.1 | 426 | Max Scherzer |
| 58.5 | 337 | Luis Gil |
| 69.3 | 283 | Nick Pivetta |
| 65.2 | 299 | Coleman Crow |
| 44.8 | 424 | Taijuan Walker |
| 20.4 | 877 | Jack Perkins |
| 26.6 | 644 | Andrew Alvarez |
| 16.1 | 1041 | Sean Manaea |
| 15.9 | 1045 | Tyler Phillips |
| 38.4 | 427 | Jared Jones |
| 28.3 | 554 | Lucas Giolito |
| 41 | 373 | Ryan Gusto |
| 67.6 | 225 | Sean Sullivan |
| 20.3 | 743 | Chase Dollander |
| 41.3 | 349 | Ryan Johnson |
| 37.2 | 382 | Mike Paredes |
| 44.4 | 313 | David Sandlin |
| 22 | 627 | Brandon Pfaadt |
| 81 | 158 | Zach Thornton |
| 20.7 | 594 | PJ Poulin |
| 33.2 | 361 | Mick Abel |
| 29.8 | 399 | Matt Waldron |
| 38.2 | 304 | Cade Povich |
| 27.6 | 391 | Cody Bolton |
| 47.1 | 225 | Shane Smith |
| 40.3 | 263 | Joe Boyle |
| 33.7 | 300 | Jason Alexander |
| 54.5 | 176 | Cristian Javier |
| 55.7 | 167 | Shane Bieber |
| 15.3 | 602 | Jesse Scholtens |
| 41.5 | 212 | Luis Morales |
| 59.9 | 142 | Jose Cabrera |
| 24.5 | 306 | Hunter Dobbins |
| 8.6 | 859 | Zach Agnos |
| 49.7 | 145 | George Klassen |
| 11 | 638 | BrazobáHuascar n |
| 39.8 | 176 | Dean Kremer |
| 12.5 | 530 | Ryan Weiss |
| 50 | 130 | Braxton Garrett |
| 11.8 | 552 | Richard Lovelady |
| 8.8 | 726 | Lake Bachar |
| 45.7 | 140 | Jordan Wicks |
| 10.7 | 591 | Cal Quantrill |
| 7.6 | 817 | Spencer Miles |
| 9.9 | 616 | Bryan Hudson |
| 7.2 | 816 | Ian Seymour |
| 8.9 | 652 | Tobias Myers |
| 6.8 | 848 | Drew Anderson |
| 20.8 | 269 | Chase Petty |
| 20.2 | 277 | Kendry Rojas |
| 9.3 | 578 | Tim Mayza |
| 57.6 | 92 | Cade Horton |
| 8.7 | 596 | Tanner Gordon |
| 9.2 | 524 | MoráJovani n |
| 82.8 | 58 | Carson Palmquist |
| 51.6 | 91 | Kade Morris |
| 25.6 | 180 | Bailey Falter |
| 63.4 | 71 | Joey Estes |
| 7.7 | 569 | Mason Montgomery |
| 5.3 | 815 | Brent Suter |
| 6.1 | 683 | Andrew Morris |
| 7.5 | 549 | Didier Fuentes |
| 6.8 | 599 | Cole Sulser |
| 19.3 | 207 | Colton Gordon |
| 5.6 | 696 | Grant Taylor |
| 6.3 | 608 | Jacob Latz |
| 9.1 | 418 | Mason Englert |
| 9.2 | 401 | Brandon Eisert |
| 45.7 | 81 | JP Sears |
| 6.2 | 581 | Mason Fluharty |
| 18 | 200 | Mitch Spence |
| 40.7 | 86 | Robby Snelling |
| 40 | 85 | Carson Whisenhunt |
| 42.5 | 80 | Justin Verlander |
| 5.9 | 557 | Will Klein |
| 4.1 | 774 | Jos Suarezé |
| 41.6 | 77 | Blake Snell |
| 43.2 | 74 | Zach Eflin |
| 5.8 | 531 | Brennan Bernardino |
| 9.3 | 312 | Ty Madden |
| 3.7 | 760 | Sean Newcomb |
| 20.8 | 130 | Zach Pop |
| 3.2 | 855 | Aaron Ashby |
| 4.1 | 635 | Tyler Holton |
| 4.5 | 550 | Bradgley Rodriguez |
| 46.3 | 54 | Mitch Bratt |
| 5.4 | 447 | Steven Cruz |
| 4.8 | 457 | Ryan Rolison |
| 3 | 704 | Braydon Fisher |
| 4.5 | 446 | Pete Fairbanks |
| 3.5 | 547 | Casey Legumina |
| 3.4 | 552 | Austin Warren |
| 2.7 | 664 | Wandy Peralta |
| 4.8 | 353 | Jimmy Herget |
| 3.2 | 539 | DL Hall |
| 2.9 | 560 | Paul Blackburn |
| 5.1 | 315 | Tyler Samaniego |
| 2.7 | 563 | Paxton Schultz |
| 7.5 | 200 | Brenan Hanifee |
| 3 | 505 | Jakob Junis |
| 2.1 | 720 | Juan Mejia |
| 3.8 | 396 | Kyle Hart |
| 2.6 | 546 | Tyler Alexander |
| 31.7 | 41 | Lyon Richardson |
| 2.7 | 443 | Keegan Akin |
| 2.3 | 522 | Tanner Banks |
| 3.8 | 318 | Jordan Leasure |
| 25.5 | 47 | Cody Ponce |
| 1.7 | 652 | Luis Medina |
| 5.4 | 203 | Kyle Backhus |
| 2.1 | 481 | John King |
| 3.7 | 267 | Adam Macko |
| 20.4 | 49 | Sammy Peralta |
| 3.8 | 265 | Chris Murphy |
| 10.5 | 95 | Tyler Gilbert |
| 2.8 | 287 | Burch Smith |
| 0.8 | 602 | Steven Okert |
| 0.8 | 510 | PéCionel rez |
| 2.5 | 118 | Riley Martin |
Given the opportunity to pitch in the All-Star Game on July 14, Schlittler would relish the moment and approach his inning without fear, Glavine told NGN.
“I think he’ll love it, and he’s given no reason why he wouldn’t,” said Glavine, who still communicates regularly with Schlittler. “I bet you see his velocity go up a tick, I bet he rises up to the occasion, all of those things. He won’t be nervous.”
The All-Star Game is a friendly exhibition of talent from outstanding players across the league, and does not count toward teams’ season record or statistics. But with the nation’s eyes on the beloved event, a young pitcher such as Schlittler can feel as though they are under significant pressure to perform, Glavine said.
Still, Schlittler’s post-season heroics in 2025 prepared him for difficult and highly publicized situations, he added. Chief among them was his appearance against his team’s rival Red Sox in an elimination game. The then-rookie Schlittler pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing no walks and striking out 12 batters to secure a 4-0 victory.
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“So, he’s always going to have that experience and that confidence, knowing that I can do anything, and I think I’m 100%,” Glavine said. “I know he believes he can do anything.”
In comments to the media in recent weeks, Schlittler has largely downplayed his likely appearance in the All-Star Game and, further still, the murmurings about Cy Young votes, an award presented to the most outstanding pitcher in each league.
“Goal is to win a championship, so the statistics don’t matter,” he told Yankees beat reporters earlier this month.
But Glavine said he would watch Schlittler’s appearance at the All-Star Game with as much excitement as he does all of his regular-season starts. “It’s must-watch TV for me,” he said.
Glavine said Schlittler’s success and maturing character reflects the values and strength of the Northeastern program under his tenure. At Northeastern, under Glavine’s coaching, Schlittler went 14-9 with a 2.62 ERA and 180 strikeouts across 182 innings in 31 appearances, 30 of them starts.
When Glavine’s current players watch Schlittler pitch or hear him mention his alma mater in interviews, they’re encouraged to be their best selves on the field, he said.
“He’s representing us and so it’s all the emotions, a tremendous sense of pride,” Glavine said. “It shows you what a Northeastern kid can do, it shows you what a kid from Massachusetts can do.”
