Cam Schlittler is an All-Star but will not pitch in the All-Star Game

On July 4, Cam Schlittler was selected to the All-Star Game and with that selection he became one of seven first time All-Star pitchers. However, he has decided to attend the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and its surrounding festivities but not pitch in the Midseason Classic.

“It is an amazing feeling to go out there and represent the team,” Schlittler said when he arrived in the City of Brotherly Love. “It is going to be a lot of fun. My immediate family is here. My grandma and uncle are here. It is going to be a great time and I know they are going to enjoy it.”

Schlittler opted not to pitch in the All-Star game since he just pitched on Saturday and he wanted to be sure to stay fresh and healthy for the second half of the season. In Saturday’s comeback win, Schlittler allowed just two earned runs on two solo homers in the first inning in his 6.2 innings pitched. He allowed just four hits overall and recorded six strikeouts.

At the All-Star break, Schlittler leads the league in these categories: ERA (2.05), WAR (4.1), games started (20), ERA+ (205), WHIP (0.944) and his 12 quality starts puts in a three way tie with Sonny Gray and Michael Wacha for most in the league. His 137 strikeouts are second most in the AL and his .200 batting average against his second best in the AL. He trails Dylan Cease in both of those categories. His strikeout to walk ratio of 5.48 is third best in the league, his strikeouts per nine innings of 10.39 is fifth best in the league.

Schlittler has an outstanding 2.39 ERA and a 174 ERA+ in his 34 regular season starts going back to when he made his MLB debut on July 9 of last season. Schlittler has allowed one run or less in 14 of his 20 starts this season and he has allowed two runs or less in 28 of his 36 starts overall, which includes his two starts in the playoffs in 2025. He had a good case to be named the All-Star Game starter based on his stats in the first half.

Schlittler relies on his three different fastballs. He has thrown his 4-seam fastball 45 percent of the time this season at an average velocity of 97.9 mph. His 4-seam fastball has 16.9 inches of rise. He was consistently throwing 92–93 mph when he was drafted out of college. The Yankees projected him to be able to throw faster based on his 6-foot-6 height and they thought his consistent strike throwing was a plus. He throws his cutter 27 percent of the time at an average velocity of 94.5 mph and he throws his sinker (two-seam fastball) 20 percent of the time at an average velocity of 97.6 mph.

Schlittler added that the injury situation in regards to the pitching staff is a factor in him not pitching in the Midsummer Classic. He does not want to risk being another injured starting pitcher.

“The pitching staff has had a lot of injuries this year, you know,” Schlittler said after Sunday’s game. “Between Garrett and Max and now Carlos, I do not want to put that risk in there of letting the team down. If I were to not recover the right way and I am dragging a bit that would not benefit anyone. I walked in today and I had a conversation with Boone. He was confident that I wanted to throw but I just kind of leaned away from it. Congrats to Dylan Cease, he has been great this year and deserves to start the All-Star Game. (Schlittler added the decision that was made for Cease to start the All-Star Game had nothing to do with his decision to not pitch in the game).”

“I feel good,” Schlittler said about how he was doing physically. “I feel really good. I am not worried about recovering or anything like that but I still got a lot of baseball left and that is where my priority is at. I was leaning towards pitching the last x amount of weeks, that was the plan. I kind of knew I did not line up perfectly and that it would fall on a bullpen day there. So, after the game yesterday, I just thought about it, any my priority is to the team and how I can help the team win a championship. I was not comfortable enough that I would recover in enough time to throw as hard as I can in one inning. I had some conversations with the coaches about where I was leaning. They support me and if I wanted to throw, they would be behind me.”

Tuesday, which is the day of the All-Star Game, would be Schlittler’s bullpen day after making his start on Saturday. He thought that with the adrenaline from the All-Star Game he would have been pitching at 110 percent, and he did not think it would make sense to ramp up that much three days after his last start.

He thought it would be best to prepare with the normal bullpen that he usually has and see where it goes from there. Schlittler added that he is looking forward to talking to some of the veteran pitchers who will be at the All-Star Game and seeing what he can learn from them. He is looking forward to the entire All-Star experience and everything that comes with it. He thinks it will be fun having his teammates Cody Bellinger and Rice at the All-Star Game with him as well.

“The biggest one is definitely Justin Verlander,” Schlittler said when asked who he is hoping to talk to. “We are with the same agent and I have heard very good things about him. Obviously, he has had a lot of success and this is his 10th All-Star Game. When I look at him I look at Gerrit as well in terms of a lot of experience and a lot of success. There is a lot I feel like I could take away there. It wold be good to sit down and hopefully have a conversation with him.”

Schlittler was looking forward to watching Rice in the Home Run Derby and he predicted that he would hit a lot of home runs. Schlittler and Rice are a unique All-Star Game duo from the same time since they both grew up and went to high school in Massachusetts, which is a state that is not known for producing a lot of Major League baseball players. Schlittler was selected in the 7th round in 2022 by the Yankees out of Northeastern, which is in the Coastal Athletic Conference (CAA). Rice was selected in the 12th round by the Yankees in 2021 out of Dartmouth, which is in the Ivy League.

“I do not know how many homers is a lot, but I expect him to hit a lot Schlittler said today in Philadelphia. “I was holding his bat earlier. It has gotten a nice feather weight to it. I am excited. I think he is going to do great.”

Rice has 29 homers in 91 games this season after having 26 homers in 138 games last season, which was his first season as the starting first baseman and his second MLB season overall. Rice’s 29 homers are the second most in the AL, his 68 RBI are the second most in the AL, his 202 total bases are the second most in the AL, his .599 SLG is second best in the AL and his .971 OPS is second best in the AL. Houston’s Yordan Alvarez is in first place in all of those categories. Rice’s .372 OBP puts him tied for 13th in the league with Junior Caminero. Rice’s 94 hits are the 11th most in the AL.

Rice goes into the All-Star break with an 8-game hitting streak and he has gone 12–30 with five homers and 12 RBI in that span. Rice chose his father to throw to him during the Home Run Derby. Cal Raleigh won the Home Run Derby last year with his father pitching to him and Robinson Cano won the Home Run Derby in 2011 with his father pitching to him.

“He has been amazing,” Schlittler said when asked about Rice’s performance in the first half of the season. “I missed him over a little bit in the minors. I could only really hear about his success. To be able to come up last year and see a taste of that. To see how much progression he has made since getting drafted has been amazing to watch. He deserves to be here right now and he has been a top five hitter in the league. It has been amazing to watch and be part of.”

“You just got to stay calm and collected,” was Schlittler’s advice for Rice, who is participating in his first MLB Home Run Derby on Monday night. Benny hits a lot of home runs. It is a little bit different here. I think he is going to have a great night. It is going to be a great experience for him and his dad.”