McLean sets new Mets rookie record

By mid-August of the Syracuse Triple-A season, former 2024 Brooklyn Cyclone Nolan McLean was the Syracuse Mets’ top-performing pitcher. With New York’s recent losing streak and the need for starting pitching, the Mets called up their 2023 third-round draft pick from Oklahoma State University.

Originally a two-way player in college, the Mets kept McLean on the mound to channel his talent. Those talents eventually developed into a nasty curveball, a high spinning sweeper and a ground ball-inducing slider. At the time of his call-up, McLean’s pitching line was 5-4 over 16 games with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP over 87 innings for 97 strikeouts.

In McLean’s debut at Citi Field against the Mariners, he pitched six scoreless innings for the win while recording eight strikeouts on 91 pitches. However, McLean’s most memorable game came in his third start against the first-place Phillies, in which he pitched in another scoreless 6-0 win to set a new Mets rookie record by winning his first three games. Going up against a tough Philly lineup, McLean pitched into the eighth inning and struck out six, keeping the Mets in the hunt for the Eastern Division lead. 

When asked about the game, McLean said that he knew that he’d have his hands full as he planned to keep the Phillies hitters off-balance. For that game McLean had every pitch in his arsenal working, as he was able to throw 71 of his 95 pitches for strikes. With McLean’s introduction to the rotation, it appears that the Mets will have a much-needed new arm for a September run.