The Athletic | Brendan Kuty ($): Those hoping to see Cam Schlittler pitch in the All-Star Game are likely to be disappointed. While maintaining that he will be “ready if they need me,” Schlittler intends to use the break for the Midsummer Classic to rest for an all important push in the second half. Interestingly, AL team manager John Schneider announced that he was planning to pick his own pitcher with the Blue Jays, Dylan Cease, to start the game for the AL despite Schlittler’s superior first half and Schlittler’s initial willingness to pitch on what would have been a between-starts bullpen day. Schlittler also admitted that he did not want to overextend himself by ramping up to game-level effort and potentially risk a sluggish recovery for his first start out of the break.
ESPN: The Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Nationals to end the first half with the wind in their sails, and they did so in historic fashion. They overcame an eighth-inning or later deficit in all three wins for the first time in franchise history since May 19-21, 1910, playing as the Highlanders and sweeping the Cleveland Naps. They won their last four games before the break to cap off a 5-2 road trip, coming just in time after their worst stretch of the season, to sit three games behind the Rays for first.
MLB.com | Jared Greenspan: There’s a new Pettitte in pinstripes. In the eighth round of the 2026 Draft on Sunday, the Yankees selected Luke Pettitte with the 248th pick out of Dallas Baptist University. The son of Andy Pettitte, Luke began as a right-handed pitcher who posted a 3.19 ERA in 17 games before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Unable to pitch his junior season, Pettitte became a full-time DH and slashed .337/.403/.693 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: The Yankees have finalized their 2026 MLB Draft class, with a potential 20 new faces joining the organization. They went with a pair of left-handed pitchers for their first two picks, and their first pick, Hunter Dietz, is considered by many evaluators to be the best left-handed pitcher in the Draft. They rounded out their first day of picks with a catcher and an outfielder, and on the whole went with a balanced approach, selecting eight pitchers and 12 position players and 16 college players versus four out of high school.
Read the full article here