The Mets aren’t searching for Nolan McLean to be the savior of their beginning workers.
When the prized pitching prospect makes his eagerly awaited MLB debut, supervisor Carlos Mendoza simply desires McLean to do his half.
“I’m proud of him,” Mendoza mentioned Friday. “Congratulated him. … The other thing I told him is, ‘Let’s just have fun. Have fun, and go out there and be yourself. We’re not expecting heroes here. Just go out there, be yourself and give us a chance to win a baseball game.’ He just smiled.”
McLean, 24, is about to begin Saturday afternoon towards the Seattle Mariners at Citi Discipline.
Armed with a mid-90s sinker, a four-seamer and his bread-and-butter sweeper, McLean went 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 16 appearances, together with 13 begins, after being promoted to Triple-A Syracuse in Could.
MLB Pipeline ranks the right-handed McLean because the No. 3 prospect — and the highest pitcher — within the Mets’ system.
“The thing for me is just going out there and trusting my stuff, trying to enjoy the moment, and just compete with everything I’ve got,” McLean mentioned Friday at Citi Discipline. “At the same time, I’ve been able to pick everybody’s brains here and get some experience, some opinions on other things.”
McLean joins a Mets rotation that entered Friday with a 5.30 ERA since June 13 and that was averaging 4.5 innings per begin throughout that stretch.
He’s changing veteran right-hander Frankie Montas, who went 3-2 with a 6.38 ERA earlier than the Mets determined this week to maneuver him to the bullpen.
McLean acknowledged he wasn’t fairly certain what to anticipate when he steps on an MLB mound for the primary time, however Mendoza believes the second won’t be too large for him.
“The reports that we’re getting from people that have been around him are just the makeup, his ability to control situations, emotions, and just the way he carries himself,” Mendoza mentioned. “He’s a competitor. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be [adrenaline]. First time out there, but I’m not concerned at all.”
The Mets additionally thought of Triple-A right-hander Brandon Sproat — their No. 5 prospect — to fill Montas’ spot, however they selected McLean, who has 127 strikeouts in 113.2 minor-league innings this 12 months.
“Just [had] a big grin on my face,” McLean recalled. “Brandon said my face turned really, really red. I tried not to get emotional, and then I called my mom and she was crying. I got pretty emotional then. It was just a really exciting moment for me.”
The Mets chosen McLean out of Oklahoma State with the No. 91 decide within the 2023 draft. McLean was a two-way participant in school and to start his minor-league profession, however dedicated final summer time to turn out to be a full-time pitcher.
Regardless of his regular rise by way of the Mets’ ranks, McLean mentioned his call-up got here as a shock. He additionally referred to as it “a dream come true.”
“Part of the game is just going out there and competing with what you’ve got,” McLean mentioned. “My stuff’s not going to change from Syracuse to here, so I’ve got what I have, and I’m going to go out there [on Saturday] and try to do my best.”
BEATLEMANIA
Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo weren’t the one Fab 4 with a presence in Queens on Friday evening.
The Mets hosted “Beatles night” to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison’s famed live performance at Shea Stadium on Aug. 15, 1965.
Friday’s festivities included a pregame live performance by 1964 The Tribute, whereas the primary 15,000 followers obtained a duplicate mannequin of Shea Stadium.
Initially Revealed: August 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM EDT
