With his hoodie up and his AirPods in, a laser-focused Cam Schlittler sat at his locker and tried to stay present as he prepared for his eighth major league start on Monday. Aaron Boone, on the other hand, looked backward and forward as he discussed the Yankees’ right-handed rookie before beginning a series with the Nationals.
“I knew it was going to be really hard for our guys to trade him,” the manager said when asked about the interest Schlittler received ahead of last month’s wheeling and dealing deadline. “I’m sure they would’ve had to have been overwhelmed with something. That’s how we view Cam.
“This is a future staple of our rotation, so I’m sure it wouldn’t have been easy for a club to get him.”
Schlittler, never much of a hyped prospect before this season, continued to demonstrate why the Yankees are so high on him Monday, as he held the Nationals scoreless over six innings in a 10-5 win in the Bronx. He also fanned eight and maxed out at a 100.6 mph while tallying four hits, three walks and 96 pitches.
Afterward, Schlittler was told of Boone’s “future staple” quote for the first time.
“That’s a great feeling,” the pitcher said when asked for his reaction. “As a rookie, you can’t get too comfortable. So it’s just important for me to go out there and continue to do my job.”
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
Schlittler has done that and more since first impressing the Yankees’ big league staff in spring training.
While the last-place Nationals aren’t exactly world-beaters, he has been nothing short of impressive since making his big league debut on July 9. The 24-year-old, who flirted with perfection his last time out against the Rays, now has a 2.76 ERA over 42.1 innings this season. Schlittler has also limited opponents to three earned runs or fewer in each of his first eight starts, tying Masahiro Tanaka for the fourth-longest streak to begin a career in Yankees history.
He’s been even sharper in his last three outings, striking out 22 batters while permitting just one earned run across 17.2 innings.
“Cam’s got a great presence out there,” said Ben Rice, who caught on Monday. “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.”
Added Boone: “I think he walks out there every game with a lot of confidence that he has the ability to get you out, and he’s shown that so far.”
Outs were harder for Washington starter Brad Lord to come by on Monday, as he surrendered seven runs (6 earned) over 4.1 innings.
Cody Bellinger started the scoring in the first, lofting a sac fly after a few walks and a passed ball. Rice followed with the longest home run of his career in the third, a solo shot that traveled 435 feet to right field.
Rice, in his second MLB season, now has 21 home runs to go along with an .827 OPS.
“He’s such a big presence for us in our lineup,” Boone said. “So to have the offense sync up when he’s back [behind the plate] has been really nice.”
Five more runs came the Yankees’ way in the fifth inning, as Aaron Judge sliced a ground-rule double for an RBI before Bellinger singled two runs home. Jazz Chisholm Jr., still grieving the loss of his best friend, who died on Saturday, then hit his third two-run homer since play began on Sunday.
“I feel like he’s doing a good job of being patient at the plate,” Boone said of Chisholm, who has hit six homers over his last 13 games. “That’s something he’s done well, I feel like, all year. He’s gotten a little bit better from a patience standpoint. And then when you have his ability and his raw power, the homers are going to happen.”
Chisholm now has 24 home runs overall. That ties his single-season high even though he missed about a month with an oblique strain.
“Once I’m healthy, I can do a lot more,” Chisholm said. “And I still was hurt for like 30 games already. So I feel like if I could have stayed healthy the whole season, I would have helped a lot more.”
Jasson Domínguez capped the Yankees’ scoring in the seventh inning, pushing the pinstripers to double-digits with a three-run homer. It was The Martian’s first longball since July 23.
The Nationals didn’t score until the ninth inning, as Yerry De los Santos walked a run in with two outs before Mark Leiter Jr. surrendered a grand slam to Jacob Young. Alas, Washington’s late rally came up short against a Yankees bullpen that hasn’t looked all that good lately.
With their offense on point and Schlittler stifling the Nationals, the Yankees are now 71-60 on the season. With Boston also winning on Monday, the Bombers are still a half-game behind the second-place Red Sox, who hold the American League’s top Wild Card spot.
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