NEW YORK — Matt Harvey bringin’ heat, Kris Bryant goin’ deep.
Noah Syndergaard firing 100 mph fastballs, Kyle Schwarber swinging from his heels.
Jacob deGrom rearing back and going right after Anthony Rizzo.
In an NL Championship Series teeming with top young talent, it’s a classic baseball confrontation: the New York Mets and their power pitching vs. the Chicago Cubs and those potent sluggers.
“Strength against strength, in some respect,” Chicago executive Theo Epstein said Friday.
With the wild-card Cubs four wins from their first World Series in 70 years, Game 1 in the best-of-seven set is Saturday night at Citi Field. Harvey is scheduled to start for NL East champion New York against postseason pro Jon Lester.
But while the series features two of the country’s largest media markets — the city that never sleeps against the city of broad shoulders — this savory matchup was grown down on the farm the past few years, sprouting up off dusty minor league diamonds at Double-A Tennessee and Binghamton, Triple-A Iowa and Las Vegas.
As both franchises (and their loyal fans) endured half a decade of consistent losing, Epstein and Mets general manager Sandy Alderson were stockpiling prospects.
Chicago rebuilt around rookie sluggers, while New York pinned its plan on lively arms.
And here they are in October, perhaps a year or so ahead of schedule.
National League Championship Series
Saturday: Chicago (Lester 11-12) at New York (Harvey 13-8), 6:07 p.m., TBS
Sunday: Chicago (Arrieta 22-6) at New York (Syndergaard 9-7), 6:07 p.m., TBS
Tuesday: New York (deGrom 14-8) at Chicago, TBA, TBS
Wednesday: New York (Matz 4-0) at Chicago, TBA, TBS
x-Thursday: New York at Chicago, TBA, TBS
x-Saturday, Oct. 24: Chicago at New York, TBA, TBS
x-Sunday, Oct. 25: Chicago at New York, TBA, TBS
x-If necessary
CHICAGO CUBS
PROJECTED LINEUP
CF Dexter Fowler
Solidified leadoff spot with career highs in homers and walks.
.250 avg., 17 HRs, 46 RBIs, 102 runs, 84 walks, 20 steals
RF Jorge Soler
Provided a spark in NLDS, with two homers in seven at-bats.
.262 avg., 10 HRs, 47 RBIs
3B Kris Bryant
Lived up to the hype in his rookie season.
.275 avg., 26 HRs, 99 RBIs, 87 runs, 77 walks, .858 OPS
1B Anthony Rizzo
Just 26, has put together back-to-back great seasons.
.278 avg., 31 HRs, 101 RBIs, 94 runs, .899 OPS
2B Starlin Castro
Just finished his sixth season with the Cubs, and he’s just 25.
.265 avg., 11 HRs, 69 RBIs, 52 runs
LF Kyle Schwarber
Fourth pick of the 2014 draft hit three home runs in NLDS.
.246 avg., 16 HRs, 43 RBIs, .842 OPS in 69 games
C Miguel Montero
Provided steady backstop after coming over from D-backs.
.248 avg., 15 HRs, 53 RBIs
SS Javier Baez
Getting the call with star 21-year-old Addison Russell injured.
.289 avg., 1 HR, 4 RBIs in 28 games
ROTATION
Jon Lester
Not a typical regular season, but plenty of postseason success.
11-12, 3.34 ERA, 205 innings, 207 strikeouts
Jake Arrieta
Performance after all-star break incredible (12-1, 0.75 ERA).
22-6, 1.77 ERA, 229 innings, 236 strikeouts, .185 opp. avg.
Jason Hammel
Ex-Rockies pitcher was solid throughout the season.
10-7, 3.74 ERA, 170 innings, 172 strikeouts
Kyle Hendricks
Solid first full season.
8-7, 3.95 ERA, 180 innings, 167 strikeouts
CLOSER
Hector Rondon
A total of 59 saves in his first two seasons.
6-4, 1.67 ERA, 30 saves in 34 chances, 70 innings, 69 K’s
NEW YORK METS
PROJECTED LINEUP
RF Curtis Granderson
Power numbers still there, added in with career-high walks.
.259 avg., 26 HRs, 70 RBIs, 98 runs, .821 OPS
3B David Wright
Perennial all-star missed most of the season with a back injury.
.289 avg., 5 HRs, 17 RBIs, 25 runs, .814 OPS in 38 games
2B Daniel Murphy
Hero of Game 5 of NLDS with steal off a walk, then home run.
.281 avg., 14 HRs, 73 RBIs, 56 runs, 38 doubles
CF Yoenis Cespedes
Came over in trade from Tigers and made Mets a contender.
.291 avg., 35 HRs, 105 RBIs, 101 runs, .870 OPS for season
C Travis d’Arnaud
Injuries forced him to miss a lot of time during the season.
.268 avg., 12 HRs, 41 RBIs, .825 OPS
1B Lucas Duda
Low-average, high-power hitter.
.244 avg., 27 HRs, 73 RBIs, 67 runs, 33 doubles, .838 OPS
LF Michael Conforto
Last year’s 10th pick in the draft showed plenty in short time.
.270 avg., 9 HRs, 26 RBIs, 14 doubles in 56 games
SS Wilmer Flores
Impressive first full season in the majors for this 24-year-old.
.253 avg., 16 HRs, 59 RBIs, 55 runs
ROTATION
Jacob deGrom
Three strikeouts on just 10 pitches in the All-Star Game.
14-8, 2.54 ERA, 191 innings, 205 strikeouts
Noah Syndergaard
A terrific ratio of five strikeouts for each walk.
9-7, 3.24 ERA, 150 innings, 166 strikeouts
Matt Harvey
Innings limit? Apparently not, which is good for New York.
13-8, 2.71 ERA, 189 innings, 188 strikeouts
Steven Matz
Impressed enough in September call-up to get playoff start.
4-0, 2.27 ERA, 35 innings, 34 strikeouts
CLOSER
Jeurys Familia
Dominant in first full season finishing games.
2-2, 1.85 ERA, 43 saves in 48 chances, .207 opp. avg.
