It won’t be official until the announcement is made on Wednesday night, but Cam Schlittler is such a lock for the American League Cy Young Award that several major sportsbooks have taken him off the board.
Perhaps Toronto’s Dylan Cease will pick up a first-place vote or two, but Schlittler should be close to unanimous after going 14-6 with a 1.95 earned run average and 239 strikeouts over 193⅔ innings and 33 starts for the Yankees.
The votes were submitted before the start of the postseason, when Schlittler added to his breakout year by allowing two runs over 10⅔ innings in two starts and striking out 12.
The 25-year-old righthander from Walpole would be the first Cy Young winner from Massachusetts since first-ballot Hall of Famer Tom Glavine of Billerica in 1998, and only the seventh Yankee since the award was introduced in 1956.
“I think it’s great,” Glavine said. “As somebody who came up in Massachusetts, there are challenges, and to get to the level he has, it says a lot about his work ethic, not just his talent.”
Coincidentally, it was Glavine’s younger brother, Northeastern coach Mike Glavine, who helped put Schlittler on this stage. Schlittler played for the Huskies from 2020-22, going 14-9 with a 2.62 ERA over 31 games.
“His first year with us was the COVID season, but we saw enough from him to think this was somebody who could pitch for us on the weekend [in conference games],” Mike Glavine said. “We had a feeling he could be special.”
At 6 feet 6 inches and 210 pounds, Schlittler had the frame of a power pitcher, but not the polish or the strength.
“For those of us who knew him, he had the ability. But he was throwing 92, 93 [miles per hour] in college,” said Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick, who played at Boston College while Schlittler was at Northeastern.
“I would say he was a late bloomer. You see what he’s doing now, throwing 100 with stuff. His fastball has so much ride, it gets on you. He’s really good.”
The greater Boston college baseball world is so close-knit that Frelick’s brother, Nico, was Northeastern’s bullpen catcher when Schlittler was with the Huskies.
When he returned for his sophomore season, Schlittler was stronger and more confident, going 8-1 with a 1.88 ERA in 13 starts. But the 2022 season was a step back (5-8, 3.44 ERA in 15 starts), and Schlittler dropped to the Yankees in the seventh round of the draft.
The team’s Massachusetts-based area scout, Matt Hyde, believed in Schlittler’s potential, and the Yankees signed him for a bonus of $205,000.
The Yankees look prescient now. But 13 players who were selected after Schlittler in that draft signed for more, including two taken by the Yankees. Their faith had its limits.
“Obviously it is tough being from New England,” Schlittler said. “It is different from being down South. You don’t get the full year of baseball. The way [Glavine] would describe it is we were more of a blue-collar, hard-nosed team. That’s how I take myself as a player.
“I had to work to get to where I wanted.”
Schlittler pitched well in his first taste of pro ball and reached Double-A in 2024. A 2.82 ERA in 15 games in ’25 earned him a promotion to the majors in July, and a start against the Red Sox in the deciding third game of the Wild Card Series.
Schlittler fired eight shutout innings and struck out 12 without a walk.
“He took it to another level,” Mike Glavine said.
Schlittler has a five-pitch mix that is 90 percent some variation of his fastball. He averaged 98 m.p.h. with his four-seamer last season.
Schlittler’s other weapon on the mound is his disposition.
“He pitches with an edge,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s out there to attack the other team.”
Hall of Famer CC Sabathia appreciates that approach.
“Cam goes right after hitters with fastballs. He’s a tough at-bat,” he said. “I like that he’s so aggressive.”
Another former Yankee, David Robertson, also came away impressed.
“He’s downhill and has a great angle,” said Robertson, who retired in 2025 after playing 17 years in the majors. “He has great intensity on the mound. It’s really impressive.
Robertson was a 17th-round pick out of Alabama who reached New York at 23 and was a key bullpen piece for the Yankees’ 2009 championship team. He understands the route that Schlittler took.
“When you get to that big stage in New York, it can help you. I watch him at Yankee Stadium, and it’s electric stuff. He has all the qualities you would want in an ace,” he said.
The Yankees were swept out of the Division Series by the Rays, and Schlittler has since spent time in New York, Tampa (where the Yankees have their minor league complex), and Boston.
“He’s around [Northeastern] all the time,” Mike Glavine said. “He works out with our guys and sees friendly faces. He’s generous with his time. Cam has a presence, and it’s good for our players to be around him.”
It’s good for recruiting, too. When Northeastern coaches contact high school players, they’re all aware of Schlittler. He helps sell a program that has become one of the best mid-majors in the country.
“Cam’s success has been big for us,” Mike Glavine said. “Does it seal the deal? Probably not. But it starts conversations. It gets us in the door.”
Frelick, who has been on a celebration tour after the Brewers won the World Series, appreciates what Schlittler has accomplished.
“I give him credit,” Frelick said. “He kept getting better and better. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball now.”
Schlittler faced Frelick and the Brewers in Milwaukee on May 9. He pitched six shutout innings in a game the Brewers won, 4-3. Frelick lined out deep to center in the second inning and popped up in the fifth. More battles remain.
Come Wednesday night, Schlittler will — after his first full season in the majors — have a trophy that aces covet.
“I like watching him pitch. He changes speeds with his fastball, and that was something Greg [Maddux] and I always talked about,” Tom Glavine said. “I never threw 100 like he can, but it’s the same principle. If he wins the Cy Young, that would be great for him and Northeastern.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.