What the Mets saw last year from Nolan McLean — strong work in Double- and Triple-A, a mid-August call-up, zero noticeable nerves, a seamless transition to major league life and finally general excellence for eight starts, which had positioned the righty for Game 1 of a playoff series that did not arrive — was extraordinary.
There are young pitchers who, given the sharper book on them that experience affords, take a step or two back after initial success. There are some who, given the added workload of the 162-game season, begin to ache. There are others who lose a tick or two of velocity after a career season. And there are some who run with the early success and become standouts or superstars.
What does McLean have in store for his encore? The Mets and baseball world will begin to find out Sunday, when McLean Day arrives for the first time this season.
Is McLean — entering Year 2 (even if he is technically a rookie) after displaying filthy stuff in the World Baseball Classic — better than he was at the end of last season?
“Absolutely,” McLean said before the Mets hosted the Pirates on Saturday. “Just because I’ve had even more time to work on it. I think getting more and more reps and figuring out myself a little bit better.”
At all stages of his professional life, McLean has improved from year to year. The McLean who pitched in the Florida Complex League was different than the one called up to Low-A St. Lucie, who was different than the one who pitched with High-A Brooklyn.
He spent most of his 2024 campaign with Double-A Binghamton, where “Cowboy Ohtani” tried to hit, too, before ending the experiment, and he posted a 4.19 ERA in 18 starts. Last season he dominated (1.37 ERA) in five starts at the level before his rise truly began.
He is still somewhat raw — a college reliever and outfielder, he has only been starting for a season and a half — and is adjusting a few pitches in a repertoire of spin. He believes there are larger steps to take.
“I think just overall pitchability, I’ve improved a ton,” McLean said. “I’ve got confidence in a lot more pitches as well. And I’ve had a whole ’nother year to work on my body to just hopefully increase longevity.”
Last season McLean pitched in 29 games between the minors and majors. This year, he said, a goal is around 35 — last year’s major league leader was Logan Webb with 34.
The most tangible difference between this year’s McLean and last year’s McLean might be his heat. In the majors last season, his four-seamer averaged 95.8 mph. During the WBC, the same pitch registered 97.7 mph.
Was the bump the product of the intense atmosphere? The result of unleashing more with a shorter pitch count, building up to 63 pitches in the championship game? Or a sign that he will be throwing harder this year?
“I’ve never had [that velocity] before, so I guess we’ll see,” said McLean, who said a stronger body and “just learning how I move on the mound a little bit better” might help him reach back for more this year. “I expect it to go down a little bit. But if I can average one more mile an hour than I did last year, that’s a win for me.”
Even if his fastball gains are real, he always will be known for his breaking stuff. His biggest projects this offseason were fine-tuning his cutter, which can help particularly against lefties, and improving upon a changeup that he rarely threw last season.
That offering — more technically a kick-change, which he began toying with in 2024 — became a focus of camp, leaning upon it to help its consistency and see if he could induce any more drop on the pitch.
“Hopefully I got a little more reps under my belt” with the kick-change, he said.
The true reps are about to begin. If Sunday will not quite reach the levels established by Harvey Day, there is potential for McLean Days to take on their own energy.
“He’s equipped. He’s built for it,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve just got to enjoy it now and watch him do his thing.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
