While the Yankees spend these final games of the regular season jockeying for playoff positioning, Cam Schlittler does the same for a spot in the rotation. 

If the Yankees don’t win the AL East and wind up in the wild-card round, they will need to make a hefty decision between Schlittler and Luis Gil, with Will Warren potentially in the mix.

It’s still undecided whether the Yankees will be the AL East champions or the top wild-card team.

Saturday’s matinee against Baltimore in the second-to-last game of the season will be Schlittler’s last opportunity to prove that he can be relied upon in a potential decisive postseason situation. 

So, then what reasoning points to backing Schlitter’s ceiling in this spot?

He’s showcased breakneck fastball velocity since making his MLB debut in July, recording nine of the club’s 10 fastest pitches on the year up until that point.

Schlitter is averaging 97.9 mph with his fastball, which ranks him within the game’s top 5% per Statcast.

Behind his signature fastball, he wields a couple of sharp secondary offerings, drawing a 26.9% whiff rate with his cutter and putting away 19.1% with his curveball. 

Schlittler’s command isn’t stellar as he’s struggled with walks and getting hitters to chase, but the O’s are a bottom-five team in making contact with the baseball.

This has translated to the fourth-highest strikeout rate in the game. 

The towering right-hander’s 10.23 K/9 has cleared his strikeout prop in nine of 13 starts. 

Over bets on his prop lost to the hook in his last start against the O’s, but with the elevated stakes against a strikeout friendly lineup, Schlittler should pass his audition.

THE PLAY: Cam Schlittler Over 6.5 Strikeouts

Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.