With 20 years of scouting experience, Matt Hyde has helped dozens and dozens of baseball players turn pro. Only one, however, has said thank you by treating Hyde to a meal after getting drafted.
That would be Cam Schlittler, who joined the Yankees as a seventh-round pick in June 2022. That October, the Northeastern product took Hyde to a late lunch at The Capital Grille in downtown Boston.
His first professional contract already signed, Schlittler happily footed the bill.
“It was on him, and he didn’t want to just take me to a sandwich place,” Hyde told the Daily News, though he settled on a steak sandwich as Schlittler devoured a burger. “I think that says a lot about his upbringing.”
For Schlittler, the bite was the least he could do for Hyde, as the scout had known him since his teenaged years at Walpole High School in Massachusetts.
“He’s the one who got me drafted,” Schlittler told The News. “He’s the one who took the confidence in me to the front office and the guys who make that decision. I thought I just kind of owed him one.”
The Yankees also owe Hyde – and vice president of domestic amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer — one, as Schlittler has rapidly risen from an under-the-radar prospect to an integral figure on the club’s major league roster this season.
Saturday’s start against the White Sox will be just the ninth of Schlittler’s young career, but Aaron Boone has already declared the 24-year-old “a future staple of our rotation.”
“I knew it was going to be really hard for our guys to trade him,” the manager said, referring to the interest Schlittler received ahead of last month’s trade deadline. “I’m sure they would have had to have been overwhelmed with something. That’s how we view Cam.”
It’s easy to see why the Yankees are so fond of Schlittler, as his 2.76 ERA and 26.3 K% ranked second among all rookies with at least 40 innings pitched by the end of his last start on Aug. 25. He has yet to allow more than three earned runs in a game, and he’s held the Twins, Rays and Nationals to just one run over his last 17.2 innings.
On top of strong results, Schlitter possesses tantalizing arm talent, which pairs nicely with his 6-6, 225-pound frame. With a fastball that averages 97.9 mph and touches 100 – he has dominated the Yankees’ velocity leaderboard– and a curveball that seems be getting sharper with each start, Schlittler has looked the part of a power pitcher.
“A lot of guys that throw 98, 99 nowadays, they throw a lot of their sliders and offspeed pitches and leave a lot of mistakes,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “I like how he’s super aggressive with his fastball, and he’s not afraid to throw it. I love it.”
Cam Schlittler has struck James Wood out twice so far tonight, once with a 100.6-mph fastball and once with a pretty curveball. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/xAJ991DDeI
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) August 25, 2025
The thing is, Schlittler wasn’t throwing this hard as recently as spring training.
A first-time invitee to big league camp, he was sitting in the mid-90s and working with a noticeably different secondary arsenal just a few months ago. Schlittler wasn’t a highly-touted prospect at that point, either, admitting that he “wasn’t really a name” before impressing in camp, mastering Double-A and earning promotions to Triple-A and the big leagues.
“As a seventh-rounder, you’re not going to get that recognition,” Schlittler said, though he insists he doesn’t care about being left off top prospect lists. “I’ve earned everything I’ve done.”
Schlittler, who thinks he’s a “completely different pitcher” than the one he was in spring training, said his uptick in velocity stems from taking better care of himself.
After prioritizing his mechanics in 2024, Schlittler committed to cleaner eating and adding sustainable muscle mass this past offseason. With the help of the Yankees’ nutritionists, he put on 15 pounds and reported to camp at 220 pounds. He simultaneously reduced his body fat.
As Schlittler built up on the mound and got into the groove of the season, his newfound weight led to increased velocity. Meanwhile, his improved dietary habits have helped him stay fresh and recover between starts.
“There’s guys that don’t focus on that, and you can see the results aren’t there,” said Schlittler, who learned about work ethic from his police chief father, John. “If you’re mature enough and you want it that bad, you’re gonna put yourself in the best position possible. I have no regrets. Even if I wasn’t [in the majors], I wouldn’t have any regrets over how much work I put in this year.
“Some other people in the minors, they probably wouldn’t be able to say the same.”
Boone said that Schlittler has “physically matured a lot,” since he first got to know him, which has allowed him to “ascend somewhat quietly and quickly.”
Schlittler’s new physique has also been apparent to Hyde, who remembers scouting a scrawnier talent at Walpole High.
“I think that guys develop at different stages,” Hyde said. “He’s put on some really good strength and size since he was drafted by us.”
One thing Schlittler never lacked is self-assurance.
While Boone has talked about the neophyte’s “quiet confidence,” there have been times when it has appeared in bold fashion.
With rumors swirling prior to his second big league start, Schlittler told the News that trading him wouldn’t be in the Yankees’ best long-term interest. He wasn’t cocky about it.
He just believes in himself.
“I’ve always been confident,” Schlittler said. “I feel like I’ve always been in a situation where I’ve had to prove myself a little more than certain guys.”
Other Yankees have noticed that chip on Schlittler’s shoulder, as well as the way it motivates him.
“Cam’s got a great presence out there,” Ben Rice, another Hyde discovery, said after catching Schlittler’s last start. “He’s a rough and tumble kind of guy, just a blue-collar attitude, a lot of poise out there. So it’s fun to watch.”
“He walks out there every game with a lot of confidence that he has the ability to get you out,” Boone added, “and he’s shown that so far.”
Despite having never pitched above Double-A before this season, there’s now a chance that Schlittler will have to get guys out in the playoffs this October.
There’s still time for things to change, but the first-year pro has made a case to be the Yankees’ third postseason starter with the team currently positioned for a Wild Card round appearance. Other candidates include Will Warren and Luis Gil with Max Fried and Carlos Rodón logical locks for the top two spots.
“Hopefully we’re having that conversation down the road,” Boone said.
Perhaps the Yankees will decide against testing the inexperienced Schlittler in such an environment. That it’s even a topic of discussion is a testament to Schlittler’s demeanor and the progress he’s made in such a short period of time, though.
“Our player development people get a ton of credit for the work they’ve done with him,” Hyde said. “They really have helped him take some raw ability and made him into a major league starter. But I think the thing that we really did nail was Cam’s makeup.”
