Schlittler showing ace-like stuff in 8 career starts for Yanks

NEW YORK -- Each Cam Schlittler start offers a glimpse of what the Yankees hope tomorrow will look like in the Bronx, with manager Aaron Boone describing the hard-throwing right-hander as “a future staple of our rotation.”

The present looks plenty sharp, too. Schlittler strengthened his rookie résumé on Monday night, striking out eight over six scoreless innings while leading the Yankees to a 10-5 victory over the Nationals at Yankee Stadium.

“The big thing is always being confident,” Schlittler said. “That’s been important to me the last two years. Just being able to see the results, and getting confidence from guys in this room as well -- it makes it easier to go out there and just do my job.”

Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jasson Domínguez homered as the Yankees shrugged off a disappointing weekend against the Red Sox, taking the series opener from last-place Washington.

New York led by 10 runs going to the ninth, when Jacob Young hit his first career grand slam. The Yanks improved to 37-26 against clubs with losing records this season; they’re 34-34 against teams with records of .500 or better.

Making his eighth Major League start, Schlittler overpowered the Nats in what Boone called “just another really strong performance,” permitting four hits and three walks in a 96-pitch effort that lowered his ERA to 2.76.

“It makes us feel way more confident in the day -- like, we’ve just got to go out there and score some runs,” Chisholm said. “Get some runs going, and we know he’s going to handle the rest.”

Rice described Schlittler as a “rough-and-tumble kind of guy,” one whose blue-collar presence helps him grind. But Schlittler is not only surviving, he is thriving -- and building a case to fill a prominent role in a potential postseason rotation.

“I think we’re all growing confidence,” Cody Bellinger said. “As with any young guy, there’s going to be good and bad, but ultimately it’s been very impressive. He’s a great guy to have in the locker room, and it’s been fun watching him continue to get better with every start.”

Schlittler was unaware of Boone’s remark about being a future rotation staple, but his impact has been obvious. He’s the first Yankee since Masahiro Tanaka in 2014 to hold opponents to three runs or fewer across his first eight Major League starts.

“As a rookie, you can’t get too comfortable,” Schlittler said. “It’s just important for me to continue to do my job. I try to get to six, seven innings, and put the team in a spot to win.”

On Monday, Schlittler touched 100.6 mph and averaged 97.8 mph with his fastball. That’s impressive, considering he was throwing 91-92 mph as a seventh-round pick out of Northeastern University in the MLB Draft just three years ago.

“The interesting thing about him is, he wasn’t always this kind of guy,” Rice said. “I remember the year he got drafted, he started in extended spring training. He was not a velocity guy by any means. To his credit, he put in the work, put his head down, put on weight, put on muscle. He made himself into a really good pitcher.”

Asked what helped him the most to add velocity, Schlittler replied: “I think it comes down to hard work.”

“People can tell you what to do, but you’ve got to be able to go do it when no one’s watching,” Schlittler said. “I put it on myself in the offseason, making sure I come into each Spring Training ready to go.”

The Yankees have been criticized for issues in developing young pitching talent, but Schlittler already appears to be one of their success stories.

“It’s a pleasant surprise to say he’s a key part of our rotation now going down the stretch,” Boone said, “but way stranger things have happened.”

Schlittler was a popular target for opposing teams in advance of the Trade Deadline last month, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman considered the 24-year-old to be one of their more untouchable talents, along with infielder George Lombard Jr. and outfielder Spencer Jones.

“I knew it was going to be really hard for our guys to trade him,” Boone said. “I’m sure they would have had to have been overwhelmed.”

Since that didn’t happen, now it’s Schlittler’s turn to overwhelm opposing lineups -- every fifth day.