Best Is Yet To Come For Yankees' Cam Schlittler, Ben Rice

Right-hander Cam Schlittler and first baseman Ben Rice are cornerstones for the next Yankees dynasty.

Cam Schlittler has been great so far, but there's a good chance that he'll only get better from here on out. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Yankees' kids are all right. Right-hander Cam Schlittler leads the majors with a 1.50 ERA and is tied for third with six wins. First baseman Ben Rice leads the majors with a 1.030 OPS and is tied with teammate Aaron Judge for third in the majors with 16 home runs.

And the best part is ... the best is yet to come. Schlittler is 25 years old. Rice is 27. So they are positioned to be the core of the club for several years as Judge (34) and current ace Gerrit Cole (35) head into their sunset seasons.

“They don’t feel like they’ve arrived,” Yankees scout Matt Hyde said to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner. “The standards of the New York Yankees mean you’re measured by championships. These guys understand that.”

Rice isn't eligible for free agency until 2031. Schlittler won't hit free agency until 2032. It's hard to find cost-controlled top-tier talent, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman realizes that.

Cost-controlled talent

Through 46 games (163 at-bats), Rice leads the MLB in slugging percentage (.644) and rOBA (.439) while amassing 33 RBIs, 25 walks and a 1.5 WAR to go along with his aforementioned 16 HRs. Meanwhile, Schlittler has struck out 75 batters in 66 innings and also boasts an MLB-best 1.81 FIP.

Rice and Schittler are exceeding expectations, which is made even better by the fact that they're playing on team-friendly contracts.

“In this world with the (luxury) taxes and all that stuff, you need balance,” Cashman said to Kirschner. “When you import a massive free agent, those guys are supposed to finish you off with what you already have from within.”

Ben Rice being under team control for the foreseeable future is huge for the Yankees. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

“It’s impossible to have $10 (million) to $40 million players at every position,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said to Kirschner. “You’ve got to have real contributors at different levels of your team.”

Under Cashman, the Yankees' farm system has developed several All-Stars and Hall of Famers, but with mixed results.

The Yankees' Core Four—Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte—produced five World Series titles.

But the Baby Bombers—Judge, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres and Luis Severino—came up empty in the postseason. Only Judge remains in pinstripes, and his window for winning a title isn't exactly getting any bigger, which is why he must love Rice and Schlittler's skyrocketing development.

The "it" factor

Is it time to come up with a nickname for Schlittler and Rice? Maybe.

“They have that ‘it’ factor, swagger, the confidence to create a little magic,” Cole said of both players. “I’m enjoying it just as much as anybody else.”

Perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves. After all, neither has played a full season in the majors. But if the Yankees want to win their first World Series title since 2009, it sure looks like they will need Schlittler and Rice to keep on keeping on.

For Rice, that begins Friday, when the Yankees open up a three-game series with the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. Schlittler is scheduled to miss the Rays, with his next start coming on the road Monday against the Kansas City Royals.