New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler is the winner of the American League Cy Young Award for 2026. Schlittler was a unanimous selection via the Baseball Writers Association of America balloting, the results of which were announced on Wednesday, beating out Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease and Guardians rookie Parker Messick.
Schlittler's win snapped the run of free agent Tarik Skubal, who won the last two AL Cy Youngs as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
This past season, the right-handed Schlitter in his age-25 campaign put up dominant numbers:
In addition to the above, Schlitter led AL pitchers in WAR with a mark of 7.0, and his ERA+ of 215 also paced his league. That 215 ERA+, which means that Schlittler's park-adjusted ERA was 115% better than the league average, is a Yankees franchise record. Among Yankee qualifiers, only Ron Guidry's 208 in 1978 comes close. Additionally, Schlittler tied for the AL lead this season with an FIP of 2.56, and he struck out 31.4% of opposing batters, which also ranked second in the AL.
Without Schlittler's top-shelf contributions, the Yankees, without franchise slugger and reigning back-to-back AL MVP Aaron Judge for almost 100 games, might have struggled to make the postseason. Instead, Schlittler's excellence at the front of the rotation helped them win 93 games, post the AL's top run differential, and advance to the ALDS.
"Cam had as dominant a season as a starting pitcher can have from start to finish," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in a statement. "He's shown an astonishing amount of growth since we drafted him, and his success is no accident. Cam has a tireless appetite for hard work and refinement that has allowed his talents to truly flourish. This Cy Young is richly deserved. Cam was the most dominant pitcher in our league and continues to grow into a foundational player for this franchise."
Here are the voting totals:
| 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | 4th place | 5th place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Schlittler, Yankees | 30 | | | | | 210 |
| Dylan Cease, Blue Jays | | 22 | 6 | 2 | | 110 |
| Parker Messick, Guardians | | 7 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 84 |
| Drew Rasmussen, Rays | | 1 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 72 |
| Sonny Gray, Red Sox | | | | 3 | 15 | 21 |
| Reid Detmers, Angels | | | | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Cade Smith, Guardians | | | | | 2 | 2 |
| Bryan Baker, Rays | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Michael Wacha, Royals | | | | | 1 | 1 |
While Schlittler was outstanding as a rookie in 2025, this past season, he increased usage of his sinker and cutter and improved ride on his 98-mph fastball helped him take the next step and become one of the very pitchers in all of baseball. Since Schlittler doesn't turn 26 until February, continued dominance may be on the way.
Schlittler is now the seventh Yankee to win the Cy Young Award. He joins teammate Gerrit Cole in 2023, Roger Clemens in 2001, Guidry in 1978, Sparky Lyle in 1977, Whitey Ford in 1961, and Bob Turley in 1958.
