NEW YORK — Some of the most expensive pitching staffs in baseball are watching two Yankees pitchers on league-minimum contracts sit near the top of the ERA leaderboard. The sport has a new story in 2026. It is being written in the Bronx.
Cam Schlittler is 5-1. His ERA is 1.52 through eight starts. He is hitting 101 mph on the radar gun. He just became the second Yankees starter in the entire pitch-tracking era to throw five pitches at 101 mph or faster in one game. Nathan Eovaldi was the other, in 2015.
Will Warren is 4-0 with a 2.39 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 37.2 innings. He earns $826,625 in 2026.
The New York Yankees have two of the top 11 ERA leaders in baseball. Both earn pre-arbitration salaries. Together they cost less than $1.6 million. That is not a misprint.
What Schlittler did against the Orioles
Monday’s start against Baltimore was Schlittler’s third consecutive win. He allowed one run on seven hits across 5 2/3 innings, issued a career-high three walks, and left with the bases loaded in the sixth.
The velocity numbers of Schlittler told a completely different story.
Schlittler opened the game with the three fastest pitches of his big league career: 101.3, 101.1, and 101 mph in the first inning alone. He struck out Dylan Beavers. He touched 101.2 mph again in the third. By night’s end he had thrown 21 pitches at 100 mph or faster.
That figure, per Statcast, is 15 more 100-mph pitches than he threw in all 21 of his previous big league starts combined. Something changed between starts.
A mechanical tweak unlocked more heat
Between starts, Schlittler made a mechanical adjustment with the Yankees’ pitching staff. That adjustment unlocked a measurable boost in fastball velocity.
His Statcast profile backs up the full-season results. He ranks in the 98th percentile or better in both walk rate and chase rate. Opposing batters are hitting .175 against his four-seam fastball, .094 against his cutter, and .154 against his sinker. He has 53 strikeouts in 47.1 innings with a WHIP of 0.87.
The contract that makes every GM envious
Schlittler was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Northeastern University. He signed for a $205,000 bonus. He earns $801,425 on a pre-arbitration deal in 2026, per Spotrac. He will not be arb-eligible until 2029. He will not reach free agency until after the 2032 season. That is the smallest salary on the Yankees’ pitching staff.
To understand what the gap means for the Yankees, look at what comparable performance costs right now. Tarik Skubal earned $32 million in 2026, a record arbitration award, and is now on the injured list for elbow surgery. Gerrit Cole earns $36 million and is on the injured list recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Yankees’ rotation leader right now is a seventh-round pick making $801,000.
Zack Wheeler of the Phillies earns $42 million per year. Chris Sale of Atlanta earns $18 million this season. Shota Imanaga of the Cubs earns $22 million on a qualifying offer. Clay Holmes of the Mets earns $13 million after converting from reliever to starter. All four appear in the top 15 ERA leaderboard from MLB.com. Schlittler outranks all of them by ERA while earning a fraction of their salary.
Paul Skenes of Pittsburgh is earning $1.085 million, the highest pre-arbitration salary in MLB history per multiple reports. He is 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA. Schlittler outpitches the reigning NL Cy Young winner and earns $283,000 less per year. The Yankees drafted better than anyone realized.
Salary vs. performance: Pre-arb bargains vs. market deals
Stats through May 5, 2026. Sources: Spotrac (salaries), Baseball-Reference, ESPN. ★ = Schlittler (gold). IL = injured list.
| Pitcher | Team | W-L | ERA | IP | K | 2026 Salary | Contract / status |
| PRE-ARBITRATION — MARKET-ACE PERFORMANCE AT PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR | |||||||
| Cam Schlittler ★ | NY Yankees | 5-1 | 1.52 | 47.1 | 53 | $801,425 | Pre-arb | Arb: 2029 | FA: 2032 | 7th-round pick |
| Paul Skenes | Pittsburgh | 3-1 | 3.27 | 22.0 | 23 | $1,085,000 | Pre-arb (record) | Arb: 2027 | FA: 2030 | No.1 pick 2023 |
| FREE-AGENT & ARBITRATION DEALS — WHAT THE OPEN MARKET PAYS | |||||||
| Max Fried | NY Yankees | 4-1 | 2.39 | 52.2 | 43 | $27,250,000 | 8yr/$218M | 2025–2032 |
| Sandy Alcantara | Miami | 3-1 | 3.06 | 26.0 | 23 | $17,300,000 | 5yr/$56M thru 2026 | Club opt. 2027 ($21M) |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | LA Dodgers | 4-2 | 2.49 | 36.1 | 41 | $20,333,333 | 12yr/$325M | 2024–2035 | 2025 WS MVP |
| Shota Imanaga | Chi Cubs | 3-2 | 2.40 | 41.1 | 43 | $22,025,000 | 1yr QO | FA after 2026 |
| Zack Wheeler | Philadelphia | 3-1 | 2.85 | 28.2 | 35 | $42,000,000 | 5yr/$126M thru 2027 |
| Chris Sale | Atlanta | 6-1 | 2.14 | 42.0 | 49 | $18,000,000 | Club opt. exercised | New 1yr/$27M for 2027 |
| Clay Holmes | NY Mets | 4-2 | 1.69 | 42.2 | 31 | $13,000,000 | 3yr/$38M | Opt-out after 2026 |
| Tarik Skubal | Detroit | 3-2 | — | — | — | $32,000,000 | Arb record | FA: 2027 | On IL (elbow surgery May 2026) |
| Gerrit Cole | NY Yankees | — | — | — | — | $36,000,000 | 9yr/$324M thru 2028 | On IL (Tommy John rehab) |
Note: Spencer Schwellenbach (Atlanta, $800K) and Trey Yesavage (Red Sox, 788K) excluded — on IL, no 2026 stats.
2026 MLB top 15 ERA leaders: complete stats, salary and contract breakdown
Source: MLB.com pitching leaderboard (uploaded document), through May 5, 2026. Salary data: Spotrac. ★ = Schlittler (gold). ★★ = Will Warren (green). Both are Yankees on pre-arb deals.
| # | Pitcher | Team | W-L | ERA | GS | IP | H | K | WHIP | 2026 Salary | Contract |
| 1 | Justin Wrobleski | LA Dodgers | 5-0 | 1.25 | 6 | 36.0 | 26 | 15 | 1.00 | $790,000 | Pre-arb | FA ~2031 |
| 2 | Cam Schlittler ★ | NY Yankees | 5-1 | 1.52 | 8 | 47.1 | 32 | 53 | 0.87 | $801,425 | Pre-arb | Arb: 2029 | FA: 2032 |
| 3 | Davis Martin | Chi W. Sox | 5-1 | 1.64 | 7 | 44.0 | 37 | 43 | 1.02 | $798,900 | Pre-arb | FA ~2030 |
| 4 | Clay Holmes | NY Mets | 4-2 | 1.69 | 7 | 42.2 | 28 | 31 | 0.98 | $13,000,000 | 3yr/$38M | Opt-out 2026 |
| 5 | Nick Martinez | Tampa Bay | 3-1 | 1.71 | 7 | 42.0 | 33 | 28 | 1.02 | $13,000,000 | 1yr/$13M | FA after 2026 |
| 6 | Jose Soriano | LA Angels | 5-2 | 1.74 | 8 | 46.2 | 32 | 54 | 1.09 | $2,900,000 | Pre-arb | FA ~2029 |
| 7 | Bryce Elder | Atlanta | 3-1 | 1.88 | 7 | 43.0 | 32 | 36 | 1.05 | $810,000 | Pre-arb | FA ~2030 |
| 8 | Chris Sale | Atlanta | 6-1 | 2.14 | 7 | 42.0 | 26 | 49 | 0.90 | $18,000,000 | Opt exercised | New $27M/2027 |
| 9 | Chase Burns | Cincinnati | 3-1 | 2.20 | 7 | 41.0 | 29 | 46 | 1.02 | $785,000 | Pre-arb | FA ~2030 |
| 10 | Foster Griffin | Washington | 3-1 | 2.27 | 7 | 39.2 | 29 | 33 | 1.08 | $5,500,000 | Pre-arb | FA ~2027 |
| 11 | Will Warren | NY Yankees | 4-0 | 2.39 | 7 | 37.2 | 32 | 46 | 1.06 | $26,625 | Pre-arb | FA ~2031 |
| 12 | Max Fried | NY Yankees | 4-1 | 2.39 | 8 | 52.2 | 32 | 43 | 0.89 | $27,250,000 | 8yr/$218M | thru 2032 |
| 13 | Shota Imanaga | Chi Cubs | 3-2 | 2.40 | 7 | 41.1 | 25 | 43 | 0.85 | $22,025,000 | 1yr QO | FA 2027 |
| 13 | Parker Messick | Cleveland | 3-1 | 2.40 | 7 | 41.1 | 28 | 44 | 0.92 | $788.,400 | Pre-arb | FA ~2031 |
| 15 | Michael McGreevy | St. Louis | 2-2 | 2.52 | 7 | 39.1 | 28 | 24 | 0.92 | $784,550 | Pre-arb | FA ~2031 |
The historic velocity company he now keeps
The 101-mph benchmark set by Schlittler matters beyond the box score. Throwing hard is common in baseball. Throwing 101-plus repeatedly as a starting pitcher is not. Doing it five times in one outing as a Yankees starter had happened exactly once in the pitch-tracking era before Monday night.
Eovaldi was a power arm in a different mold. He maxed out at 101 mph but lacked the command profile Schlittler brings. Schlittler combines that velocity with a cutter and sinker that grade out as elite weapons per Statcast.
The Yankees drafted Schlittler in the seventh round. They gave him $205,000 to sign. They developed him through the system, watched him add velocity each year, and now have one of the five best starters in the American League earning less than most MLB bench players.
Every team in baseball would trade their current rotation situation for what the Yankees have with Schlittler. None of them can. The pre-arb clock keeps ticking, the ERA keeps dropping, and the radar gun keeps climbing.
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