Cam Schlittler delivers 99 mph heat in standout Yankees spring debut: Its nasty

TAMPA — The last, but perhaps most anticipated, piece of the Yankees’ projected Opening Day rotation has finally joined the fold. Cam Schlittler, slowed earlier in camp by mid-back/left lat inflammation, made his spring debut Friday night, throwing 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.As long as he continues to bounce back well the rest of the spring, the Yankees believe Schlittler can get built up to throw around 65-80 pitches in his regular-season debut. “We got a plan laid out, so I’m very confident that I’m going to be good to go that [first] weekend,” Schlittler said. The 25-year-old right-hander brought the heat from the jump, striking out the first batter he faced on three pitches, capped off with a 99.4 mph fastball.

That pitch averaged 98.7 mph across his 39 pitches, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out four. But the pitch that may have jumped out the most Friday was Schlittler’s cutter, which he used to strike out a pair of batters.The pitch peaked at 96.5 mph and averaged 94.9 mph, up noticeably from the 91.9 mph it averaged last season. “It’s nasty, too,” manager Aaron Boone said.

“Couple of his live [batting practices], just standing behind him, it’s kind of wicked.I think if he can get the consistency on that downer curveball that he has, then if you want to count the cutter as the third fastball [along with a four-seam and two-seam], the three fastballs with the curveball, then he gets pretty tough to deal with.” Schlittler credited Gerrit Cole with having him split the cutter into two pitches before his final start of the regular season last year, focusing on a harder cutter that he predominantly threw up in the zone. “Continue to hopefully keep the velo and location as well,” he said. Schlittler has the potential to elevate ...