By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
Born and bred in Walpole, a star is on the horizon in the New York Yankees organization. Walpole native Cam Schlittler is turning heads after a promising performance in spring training this year.
Schlittler received an invite to the Yankees’ spring training after stringing together two dominant seasons in the minor leagues. In an organization rich in young pitchers, he ranks as the 12th overall prospect, according to MLB.com.
“It’s important to have that value as it shows what you’ve done on the field,” said Schlittler. “Again, it’s just a number. It’s good to move up the leaderboard when it comes to that stuff but I’m not really trying to focus on that.”
After being drafted in the seventh round of 2022 MLB draft, Schlittler quickly moved through the minor league ranks, getting a start in Triple-A last season before settling in with Double-A, where most of MLB’s top young prospects play.
The up-and-comer has also added some hardware to his cabinet since entering professional baseball. His success at the High-A level last year awarded him the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year and, more recently, was named the 2024 Kevin Lawn Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the Yankees’ organization.
“Obviously, the goal isn’t to be the best minor league pitcher for whatever level you’re at, but it’s a good step,” he said.
The local alum continued to garner a lot of attention over his six weeks in Florida this year going against the MLB’s top talent.
“Part of the reason why I was so excited to get to big league camp was to go against some of those guys and see where my stuff is at and see where I’m at competitive wise,” he said.
There was plenty to see. Schlittler recorded strikeouts against former MVPs Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger and got two-time MVP Aaron Judge to hit what would have been a weak groundout in live batting practice.
His success can be traced all the way back to his time at Walpole. Schlittler faced his first big decision when deciding if he wanted to stay in public school or transfer to Xaverian Brothers in Westwood where his father and uncles attended.
“I was comfortable staying in Walpole and I’m definitely happy with that decision,” said Schlittler. “Most people assume I went to private school… I love Walpole… I take pride in that.”
Outside of the pride for his hometown, Schlittler saw plenty of room to grow with the program. Walpole baseball head coach Chris Costello had a six-year journey through the minor leagues himself and proved to be a great mentor for the future professional pitcher.
“I think [Costello] played a big reason in [staying in Walpole],” said Schlittler. “He’s very educated when it comes to baseball. To have someone like that in my corner definitely made things easier.”
Schlittler led Walpole to battle in back-to-back Super 8 championship tournaments in 2018 and 2019 and now looks to fight for himself to earn a spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation.
