Patrick Corbin may be the next Yankees ace. For now, he dominates for the Diamondbacks.

Bob Nightengale | USA TODAY

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PHOENIX - The greatest free-agent class in baseball history just got a whole lot better, and you better believe the New York Yankees are paying close attention.

The Yankees, who are getting below the $197 million luxury tax for a reason, know all about the marquee names who will be free agents in November: Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw.

But there’s another player out there who has their office buzzing.

He happens to be a New York kid who grew up worshipping the Yankees, whose family is several generations deep in Yankee fandom, and who dreamed one day of pitching for the Yankees.

The name is Patrick Corbin, who pitches for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

And right now, he may be pitching better than anyone in the game.

Corbin is 4-0 with a 1.89 ERA, leading the major leagues with 46 strikeouts, ranking third with a .140 opponent’s batting average, and fourth with a 0.66 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched).

He also happens to have the nastiest slider in the game, with opponents barely able to even make contact, swinging and missing at 33.1% of them this season, according to Brooks Baseball.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a slider like that since Steve Carlton,’’ says Rick Schu, San Francisco Giants assistant hitting coach. “I mean, it just disappears.’’

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He’ll be one of the elite free-agent pitchers in seven months, hitting the market as a 29-year-old lefty, who will have less than 950 career major-league innings on his arm, not even playing baseball until his junior year at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, showing up to the tryout camp wearing jeans and bringing a left-handed catcher’s mitt to play shortstop.

“I loved basketball,’’ says Corbin, who was doing 360-degree dunks in his backyard on the day he was drafted in 2009 by the Los Angeles Angels, and traded away a year later in the Dan Haren deal.

Corbin, who now scratches his basketball itch watching his beloved Syracuse Orangemen, says he has yet to have talks with the Diamondbacks about a contract extension, but certainly is willing to listen. Yet, with Zack Greinke not even halfway through his six-year, $206.5 million contract, and still owed $95.5 million after this season, it’ll be awfully challenging for the D'backs to tie up half their payroll on just two pitchers.

“I’m curious to see what happens. It will be an exciting time for sure,’’ Corbin says. “I’ve enjoyed being here so far. I love everything here. It’s going to be interesting to see who really wants you.’’

Considering the Yankees were in deep trade discussions with the Diamondbacks during the winter for Corbin, and are doing everything possible to be under the $197 million luxury tax to hit the free-agent market with full force, and are badly in need of starting pitching, guess who’s a natural fit?

“It would definitely be great to play there,’’ Corbin says. “I grew up a Yankee fan. My whole family are Yankee fans. My mom, my dad, my grandpa, everybody. Really, every generation of my family has been Yankee fans.

“Living up in Syracuse, everybody’s a Yankee fan. Not too many Mets fans up there.’’

One of Corbin’s most valued pieces in his new Scottsdale, Ariz., home that he and his fiancée recently purchased, is the autographed jersey from Andy Pettitte. He was given an autographed picture of his other favorite Yankee, Tino Martinez, as a present growing up, but for the life of him, doesn’t know where it is.

“Those were my guys,’’ says Corbin, who still remembers cursing his luck seeing the Yankees play for his 10th birthday present, only to miss David Cone’s perfect game by a day. “They were winning championships every year. It was a cool time.’’

Corbin is expected to hear plenty of family and friends this week offering their own sales pitches. The Diamondbacks, 15-6, off to their best start in franchise history, with the second-best record in baseball, are traveling to the East for the first time this season with a trip to Philadelphia and Washington.

“I know the Yankees have had some interest in the past, and there were a lot of rumors this winter that got my family excited,’’ Corbin says. “It would have been cool. You just want to go where you’re wanted, and every team will have an opportunity.

“I would love to be on a contending team for sure, but we’ll see what happens. Right now, I’m just focusing on this season.’’

Certainly, he’s making an indelible impression for teams already scouting the potential free-agent market. He’s vaulted himself into the elite class of starters, and younger than Cy Young winners Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel and David Price, who are eligible for free agency.

Corbin is better and wiser than his 2013 season when he made the All-Star team, only to miss the next 1 ½ years recovering from Tommy John surgery.

He’s the only pitcher to record at least eight strikeouts in each of his five starts this season. In his last two starts against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, he has given up a grand total of three hits with 19 strikeouts in 15 innings, including a one-hit shutout against the Giants. It was the first shutout by a D'backs lefty at Chase Field since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2003.

Corbin’s bread-and-butter pitch has been his 82-mph slider, throwing it a career-high 41% of the time. He’s also mixing in a softer slider, a looping 73-mph curve that has been clocked as low as 68-mph, along with a 91-mph sinker and 94-mph four-seam fastball.

“I always had the one slider, but I changed speeds with it this season,’’ Corbin says. “I wanted to throw something slower that I can back it up with my harder slider and fastball."

The combination has been lethal, and considering the way Corbin has been pitching, the D'backs realize that if they’re going to have a shot at keeping Corbin, they may want to soon start negotiating.

“I don’t think it would affect me that much on the field if we started talks,’’ Corbin says. “I’m not worrying about it. If they want to talk about it a little bit, that’s cool. Let’s just see what happens.

“It’s a long season.’’

Still, just 26 shopping weeks remain before free agency.

And that iconic baseball franchise in New York, the one with 27 World Series championship banners hanging, is closely watching.

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