Cam Schlittler talks Nolan McLean and Nolan McLean talks Cam Schlittler

Cam Schlittler. Nolan McLean.

Two young star righthanders who have yet to formally meet but have been intertwined since their MLB debuts last summer.

Yankees and Mets fans have sparked debates over which pitcher is better and whom they’d rather have — the typical conversations in this market — but a moment of appreciation is warranted for these likely future (and perhaps current) aces heading into this weekend’s Subway Series at Citi Field.

The Yankees’ Schlittler, 25, is the betting favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award. The Mets’ McLean, who will turn 25 on July 24, is the frontrunner to be named the National League Rookie of the Year.

While they won’t face off this weekend — Schlittler is slated to start Friday night’s series opener against Clay Holmes; McLean’s Subway Series debut will have to wait, as he pitched Thursday — were complimentary of each other in recent conversations with Newsday.

“He’s a good player, man,” Schlittler said last week. “He spins the ball well. [Aaron] Judge spoke pretty highly of him coming back from [the World Baseball Classic], so I trust his input. So yeah, he’s a good player. He’s young, I think around the same age. He’s been pretty impressive so far.”

McLean said on Wednesday: “I think I saw him pitch against us in Triple-A, and it was — I mean, it was pretty electric stuff. And it’s just the ability to command the ball that I think anybody can really take note on. It’s just how much he fills up the strike zone.”

Both will get their first taste of the Subway Series. The Yankees and Mets closed their 2025 series on July 6. Schlittler didn’t debut until July 9 and McLean on Aug. 16.

In nine starts this season, Schlittler is 5-1 with an American League-best 1.35 ERA, an AL-best 0.81 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts and nine walks in 53 1⁄3 innings. He is the first MLB pitcher with more than 50 strikeouts, fewer than 10 walks, no more than one homer allowed and a sub-1.50 ERA in his first nine starts of a season since Walter Johnson in 1913, according to OptaSTATS.

Schlittler’s four-seamer averages 97.9 mph and has hit 101.3 this season, and his fastball run value ranks in the 100th percentile, according to Baseball Savant.

In McLean’s nine starts this season, he is 2-2 with a 2.92 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and 64 strikeouts and 15 walks in 52 1⁄3 innings. Two of his first five starts included perfect-game bids of five innings-plus, making him the first MLB pitcher in at least the expansion era (1961) with multiple five-inning-plus perfect bids in his first 13 career starts, according to MLB.com researcher Sarah Langs. His average curveball spin rate of 3,284 rotations per minute leads MLB, according to Baseball Savant.

Both pitchers have had historic starts, and they would love to meet when the opportunity presents itself.

“For sure, yeah,” Schlittler said. “I’m sure it’ll all fall into place. And I’m sure at some point we’re going to run into each other, hopefully. Whether that’s representing our country or whatever it is in the future, maybe it’s somewhere in the city. He seems like a cool dude.”

Said McLean: “I’m always down to pick guys’ brains, and whatever he’s doing is working for him. So it’s always cool to kind of see how guys go about their business.”

McLean acknowledged “it would have been cool to face” the Yankees, and he hopes to pitch in their Sept. 11-13 series at Yankee Stadium.

McLean gushed about what he learned from the Yankees’ captain at the WBC.

“Just seeing how dialed in that guy is to his work and his craft, whether it’s going good or going bad, just the fundamentals of how he goes about his business each day,” McLean said. “It was something to learn from for me, and there’s a reason he’s so good.”

Schlittler already has shown a knack for the big moment, evidenced by his eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks against his hometown Red Sox in Game 3 of last year’s AL Wild Card Series.

Of course, the Subway Series won’t be nearly as pressure-packed or personal for the Massachusetts native. Nonetheless, it’s another start in the spotlight.

“Yeah, it’s going to be great,” Schlittler said. “Obviously, I haven’t experienced it at all. In the minors you got a little mini one with the [Brooklyn] Cyclones and Hudson Valley [Renegades, the Mets’ and Yankees’ High-A teams]. So it’s always cool. I feel like it’s always amped.

“Obviously in New York, you got these two fan bases going back and forth with each other. So it’ll be good to go out there, experience that . . . It’ll be fun.”

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.