Schlitter’s versatility led to first Triple-A stint

HARTFORD — The numbers don’t lie: It hasn’t been the greatest first half for Craig Schlitter.

Still, the Guilford native has proven to be a versatile long man out of the Hartford Yard Goats’ bullpen, ready to go multiple innings whenever the team needs him.

And that versatility was enough to earn him his first promotion to Triple-A recently. Schlitter was called up to Albuquerque on June 11 and spent a little over two weeks with the Isotopes, making three appearances and more than holding his own, allowing six hits and two earned runs in five innings of work.

“It was a great experience,” Schlitter said last week, after the Yard Goats’ final game of the first half of the season at Dunkin’ Donuts Park. “Pitching’s no different up there. I don’t see a huge jump in talent, but defense, pitching, hitting obviously is just one step below the big leagues. So, it was a good experience.”

Schlitter, 26, owns a 5.16 ERA with the Yard Goats this season. So he wouldn’t have appeared to be the choice for a Triple-A promotion. But his ability to throw multiple innings out of the bullpen helped punch his ticket.

“I’m kind of prepared, as a long guy — when teams need arms, I’m pretty versatile for however many innings I need to go,” Schlitter said. “They had some movement in the organization, and I was the guy they called up for a little bit.”

Schlitter made his last appearance with Albuquerque on June 25 and was put on the temporarily inactive list two days later. He returned to Hartford on July 2 and has allowed two runs in four innings since.

The former Guilford High and Bryant University standout has struck out 35 and walked 17 in 45.1 innings for the Yard Goats. Opponents are hitting .282 against the righthander, who was a 27th-round draft pick by the Rockies in 2014.

But stats only tell a part of the story. Schlitter feels his good mechanically and, most importantly, physically as the second half of the season begins.

“It’s absolutely a huge part,” he said. “You can’t pitch if you’re not healthy. Numbers are only so much of the game.”

After a few days of relaxing over the All-Star break, Schlitter’s goal for the second half is to “just regroup, get on a successful track, kind of work off where I was going into the break. I’ve been feeling good. I’m right where I want to be, mechanically and physically.”

And that’s more important than any statistic.

Schlitter