When Aaron Judge went down with his rib injury earlier in the year and ended up missing the majority of the season, it seemed that the New York Yankees did not have a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate. While Ben Rice became a solid home run hitter and gave the Yankees a legitimate long ball threat, it seemed that Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros was the leader in the club house for that elite award.
Alvarez was a legitimate Triple Crown candidate for much of the season, but he has lost his grip on that status during the last four weeks. That may have opened the door for Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler.
Schlitter has been dominant throughout the season and he has emerged as a pitching superstar in his second season. He has started 33 games and has a 14-6 record for the Yankees. He has a league-leading 1.95 earned run average and has struck out 239 batters in 193.2 innings. The 25-year-old right-hander has risen to the top of the pitching ladder with his dynamic fastball and his sensational command.
Talkin' Baseball” co-host Trevor Plouffe made a strong case for Schlittler and against Alvarez. He pointed out that Alvarez's numbers may be excellent, but they are not the kind that would give him a huge edge this season. He is hitting .315 with 41 home runs and 102 RBI.
Those numbers don't compare with what Judge did last year — .331 batting average, 53 HRs and 114 RBIs — and Plouffe thinks that Schlittler has done more for the Yankees than Alvarez has done for the Astros.
New York will go into the postseason as the top Wild Card team and will host the Boston Red Sox in a best of 3 series next week.