Cam Schlittler’s fastball was down again Tuesday, but the Yankees right-hander said he does not think it means anything more serious. After his start against the Guardians, Schlittler said he feels good, is not worried about an injury and does not believe he needs an MRI exam.
The timing is what made the dip matter. Schlittler’s velocity had already been slightly down in his previous outing against the Orioles, then slipped from a yearly average of 97.7 mph to 96.8 mph against Cleveland. That came as the 1.89 ERA he carried into the outing gave him the look of an emerging Yankees arm, even after he allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits.
Schlittler told The Post that beyond the soreness that always happens, he feels fine, and he considered Tuesday a fluke. For a pitcher being watched closely after consecutive outings with lower velocity, that was the clearest answer the Yankees could have wanted.
Still, the concern will not disappear until he takes the mound again. If the fastball is back near 97.7 mph, Tuesday fades into the background. If it is not, the questions around the 24-year-old right-hander will only get louder.
