Cam Schlittler’s second season in the majors is going well.

Jacob deGrom’s second full season following his recovery from elbow surgery also is off to a strong start.

Schlittler and deGrom hope to turn in strong outings when the former leads the New York Yankees into the middle contest of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas.

The Yankees are 9-1 in their past 10 games and own an American League-best 3.18 ERA.

New York opened the series vs. Texas by getting six scoreless innings from Max Fried and three home runs in a 4-2 victory on Monday.

Schlittler (3-1, 1.77 ERA) did not face Texas last season, when he went 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA while striking out 84 batters in 73 innings over 14 starts. The right-hander has allowed two runs or less in four of his six starts this season and got a career-high 12 outs on the ground Thursday in Boston.

“He’s just getting really, really good out there. That’s an ace-like performance,” manager Aaron Boone said of Schlitter, who allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits in eight innings of a 4-2 victory over the Red Sox.

The Rangers, who are coming off their sixth loss in nine games, are 5-0 in deGrom’s starts this season. The right-hander (2-0, 2.13 ERA) has allowed three runs in his past four starts after a shaky season debut in Baltimore on March 31.

On Thursday, deGrom notched a season-high 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of a 6-1 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed a run on five hits.

“I thought that was the best he’s thrown all year,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “He was 98 miles an hour pretty consistently, dotting almost every fastball, 70-plus percent strikes. He threw a lot of first-pitch strikes; the slider was working off the fastball. It was exactly what we were hoping for. It was a really, really strong outing.”

The Yankees have seen plenty of deGrom from his time with the Mets, who did not retain him after the 2022 season. He is 2-4 with a 3.14 ERA in eight career starts against the Yankees and held them to two runs on three hits in seven innings of a no-decision last May 21.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner has held Aaron Judge to one hit in seven at-bats, and Cody Bellinger is 5-for-19 against him.

Judge has eight of his 11 homers in the past 15 games and reached base four times while collecting three hits on Monday. Ben Rice has six of his 10 homers in his past 11 games, and the duo hit consecutive homers as the Yankees went deep three times for the seventh time this season.

“Benny’s off to an amazing start and Judge ho-hum, 11 homers already,” Boone said Monday. “Really maybe his best game of at-bats tonight. It’s a pretty good combo there.”

Texas is coming off being held to two runs or less for the eighth time. Six of those instances have been at home, where the Rangers are batting .216.

Corey Seager is hitting only .183 over his past 22 games after striking out three times Monday.

“You can tell he’s grinding through some stuff for sure, but it feels like he’s just about to get hot,” Schumaker said about Seager, who is hitting .212.

–Field Level Media

Manny Machado might not be available for the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night when they vie for a series win against the visiting Chicago Cubs.

The All-Star third baseman left San Diego’s 9-7 victory on Monday with a left calf injury. Machado, who was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs, was seen on Padres TV getting his calf rubbed by the team’s training staff.

San Diego manager Craig Stammen said Machado exited the game as a precaution after Stammen saw how he came out of the batter’s box on a groundout to end the sixth inning.

“Manny is fine,” Stammen said. “He came out of the box a little awkwardly. We’ll talk to him tomorrow and see how he feels, and we’ll go from there.”

If Machado does have to sit out, the Padres at least have the depth to make up for his absence in the short term. Ty France drove in four runs Monday night with a two-run double and two-run triple, while Nick Castellanos added a two-run single that put San Diego ahead to stay in the bottom of the fifth.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller didn’t make many moves until February, but the additions of France, Castellanos and Miguel Andujar have bolstered the team’s depth and lengthened a lineup that at times last year had too many holes.

“There’s an unbelievable amount of talent in the lineup,” France said, “so if everyone plays their game, we’ll come out on top.”

Right-hander Walker Buehler (1-2, 5.75 ERA) will try to bounce back from his shaky start on Wednesday night in Colorado. He absorbed an 8-3 loss, permitting four runs on eight hits over 2 2/3 innings, with three walks.

Buehler is 1-3 with a 4.54 ERA in seven career outings (six starts) against Chicago.

The Cubs will counter with right-hander Edward Cabrera (2-0, 2.73), who’s coming off a no-decision during his team’s 8-7, 10-inning win Thursday against Philadelphia. He pitched seven innings, yielding five runs (three earned) on six hits.

Cabrera has dominated San Diego in three career starts, going 1-0 with an 0.54 ERA.

Chicago could use another good performance from Cabrera for multiple reasons. The team has lost three games in a row following a 10-game winning streak, and its bullpen is experiencing issues. Three relievers gave up four runs in the last four innings on Monday night, enabling the Padres to rally from a 5-3 deficit.

Phil Maton gave up two runs in the seventh inning in his first outing since April 7 in Tampa Bay. Right knee tendinitis, which contributed to a drop in his velocity, kept him out for nearly three weeks.

“I’m kind of hoping we addressed it now and we can focus on getting guys out for the rest of the year,” Maton said.

The good news for the Cubs is their high-scoring offense was back in form Monday, getting a grand slam from Moises Ballesteros and becoming the first team to score off San Diego closer Mason Miller this season when they touched him for two runs in the ninth.

It was the first career slam for Ballesteros, who’s hitting .387 with five homers and 16 RBI.

“I was really excited when I was rounding first,” he said.

–Field Level Media

For most of the season, the consensus top three players in the draft have been AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer. Dybantsa has been my consensus top prospect for the entire season, and he will likely be the top pick come draft time. Prediction markets currently give Dybantsa a 75% chance of going first overall, with Peterson and Boozer close behind.

Peterson and Boozer were stars in college, but I’m not entirely sold on either one of them at the NBA level. My issues with the two guys are different, but I believe there are other players closely behind them on big boards that do what they can, but better.

The issues with Peterson are pretty simple: Does he have the mentality of an NBA player? Offensively, he has all the skills in the world and is freakishly athletic. There aren’t many guys I have as much faith in to apply consistent rim pressure like he does. He also has a well-developed jumper and can score at all three levels.

Aside from his durability and off-court mentality, he isn’t a high-motor defender, and his playmaking leaves a lot to be desired. I think if you’re okay taking a risk on that changing with a full 82-game NBA schedule, then you can take him second overall. If not, Darius Acuff might be a more enticing offensive first guard.

Acuff has a lot to work on defensively, but a shooting prospect like him does not come around too often. He can’t provide the rim pressure that Peterson does, but he’s a much better facilitator off the dribble. Offensively, he’s such a complete prospect and should be getting way more top-five buzz.

The next guy likely to go top three could not be much different than Peterson. Boozer has an NBA body and looks like a guy who could play all 82 games for the next decade. Unlike Dybantsa or Peterson, Boozer feels like a guy who will be ready to provide real value right away. I’m just not sold on his ceiling.

You’re taking a top-three pick because you think they’ll turn into an All-Star, not just an everyday starter. Boozer relied on way too much back-to-the-basket offense at Duke, and he’s just not going to get touches like that in the NBA. Even if he did, he’d be far less efficient.

UNC’s Caleb Wilson can provide that same level of post-production, but with far more athleticism. Wilson has work to be done on his jumper, but it’s still fundamentally strong, and I think he can at least be a threat from the outside once he gets further into his professional career. Defensively, versatility is so valuable at the NBA level, and I think Wilson’s explosive play style makes him an equally high-floor option at forward.

The 2026 NBA draft class is incredibly deep. If you don’t love the guys at the top of the board, this could be the year to move back and still get a great player for the future. Acuff and Wilson are the guys I’d move back for.