Yankees' Cam Schlittler Decision Has Become Painfully Obvious

New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler should win the American League Cy Young award this season.

Schlittler leads the AL with a 2.01 ERA. He owns a sparkling 0.918 WHIP. He has struck out 220 batters over 178.2 innings of work while also boasting a 2.1 BB/9. He has allowed one earned run or fewer in 19 of his 30 starts.

The 25-year-old has been incredible, and while Dylan Cease has also been fantastic in Toronto, Schlittler should be the pick.

But what's funny is up until recently, Schlittler's Cy Young candidacy seemed more set in stone than his slot in the Yankees' postseason rotation.

While Schlittler has been New York's best pitcher all season, Gerrit Cole has been lurking. The 36-year-old was dominating opposing hitters for an extended stretch this summer, and given Cole's experience, you had to wonder if Aaron Boone was seriously weighing the possibility of using Cole as his Game 1 playoff starter.

I don't think anyone would have been angry if Boone made that decision ... until now.

Cole has imploded over his last four starts, particularly over his last two when he surrendered seven total home runs to the San Diego Padres and New York Mets, representing the worst two-start stretch of his career.

His ERA has now ballooned to 3.67, and while his velocity and superb control are still there, it's obvious there is a kink somewhere.

Is it an issue so great that Cole can't fix it come playoff time? Hopefully not, and if anyone can find a solution, it's Cole. But he only has two regular-season starts remaining to identify — and remedy — the problem, and in the meantime, Schlittler has continued mowing down opposing batters.

At this point, Boone really cannot justify rolling with Cole over Schlittler as his top postseason starter just because of Cole's seniority. He needs to do what's in the best interest of the team, and right now, it's clear that Schlittler is the better option.

Of course, much of this also depends on how the Yankees' rotation lines up by the time the playoffs actually roll around, but you have to figure that New York will attempt to arrange its rotation in a way that allows Schlittler to get the ball first.

There was a time earlier this season — heck, maybe two weeks ago — when the idea of Cole starting over Schlittler was genuinely understandable.

But at this point, the answer has become obvious: it's Schlittler. And assuming New York faces the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, isn't that exactly how it should be, anyway?