Max Fried Sends Strong Message As Yankees Prospect Gears Up To Fill Clarke Schmidt Void

The Yankees’ season has been a rollercoaster, and Max Fried knows sustainable success demands more than veteran talent—it needs young arms ready to step up. On a Friday morning ride to Citi Field, the ace couldn’t help but lean over to Will Warren with questions about the next wave of talent bubbling up through the farm system. Well, you know what they say about championship teams—they build success on both present talent and future potential, and Fried’s genuine interest in the Yankees’ pipeline shows he gets it.

So, who has the Yankees’ ace so intrigued? The conversation quickly turned to one particular name that had Warren practically giddy with excitement. That he, Warren, was raving about? None other than Cam Schlittler, the Yankees’ rising star who’s been quietly transforming from a lanky college kid into a legitimate front-line starter.

Warren’s details had Fried doing a double take, tbh. “He hit 99 [mph] the other day,” Warren told his teammate, painting raw power that immediately grabbed Fried’s attention. The ace’s reaction was priceless: “Dang! I didn’t know he was throwing it that hard now. He’s a big dude, a power arm.” Fried’s surprise makes sense—this 6-foot-6 powerhouse has jumped from topping out at 96 mph in spring training to regularly hitting 99, completing what Yankees director of pitching Sam Briend calls a “four-year evolution.”

The numbers back up the hype—Schlittler has posted a 2.82 ERA across 15 games between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, earning him Baseball America’s No. 89 prospect ranking. “He looks like a top-of-the-rotation starter,” Briend recently told NJ Advance Media. “There’s no doubt in my mind he could be an option in New York before the end of this year.”

Clarke Schmidt’s devastating Tommy John diagnosis creates perfect timing, keeping him sidelined until late 2026 or 2027. The Yankees now view Schlittler as more than just a September call-up—he could make his MLB debut in days. The son of a Boston-area police chief brings both physical tools and mental toughness to handle the pressure, representing exactly what the Yankees need to fill that rotation void.

The Yankees’ poor run continues to frustrate fans who’ve moved beyond complaining about losses—they want accountability. Manager Aaron Boone still faces criticism, but experts like Hector Beauchamp aren’t convinced he’s the main problem. During a heated SNY exchange, Beauchamp shifted focus to Brian Cashman and the analytics department, delivering brutal honesty about roster construction failures.

“We just signed Jeimer Candelario, who is hitting .113 after being released by the Cincinnati Reds. That’s not Boone’s fault. It’s Brian Cashman’s fault,” Beauchamp declared. The management’s gamble on lowering Nolan Arenado’s trade price backfired spectacularly, leaving the Yankees with a vital position devoid of resources. Tbh, it makes sense why fans are frustrated with front-office decisions.

Image: MLB.com

While the roster continues to show flaws, Beauchamp’s statements echo fan sentiments perfectly. “If Boone is the scapegoat, all they will do is bring in another spokesman for management,” he argued. The criticism hits differently when it targets the architect of these roster moves rather than just the field manager.

This backdrop makes Fried’s interest in prospects like Schlittler even more significant. Well, you know what happens when veterans start looking toward the farm system—it usually means they see the writing on the wall about current roster limitations and want to be part of the solution.