PORT ST. LUCIE — It was mostly quiet, with not many people in the makeshift stands, for Nolan McLean’s latest outing, a minor league game on a back field behind Clover Park.
And there weren’t too many familiar faces in the opposing lineup through the right-hander’s four innings Wednesday.
But that didn’t make the start any less important for McLean, who emerged as one of the most promising Mets pitchers last season and early this spring before he was sidelined by vertigo-like symptoms that were caused by a viral infection in his inner ear.
The symptoms are now gone. After exiting the game, his focus shifted to the WBC.
He’s expected to leave to meet Team USA as soon as Thursday and is slated to pitch March 10 against Team Italy, and if the U.S. advances to the final of the tournament March 17, McLean will get the ball then, as well.
“That’s a great honor,’’ McLean said of Team USA manager Mark DeRosa naming him the potential starter for the tournament finale. “But there’s a lot of baseball to be played [and] a lot of really good teams out there. My job is to go out there, compete against Italy, do the best I can and be a good teammate for the rest of the games. Then, hope we make the finals and I get the ball.”
The Mets are no doubt relieved McLean was back on the mound Wednesday, after the 24-year-old was struck by symptoms that included dizziness and a loss of appetite for much of last week before they began to dissipate over the weekend.
During Wednesday’s outing, which lasted about 55 pitches, he showed no effects of the issues he dealt with that led to his delay in getting to the WBC.
McLean said he felt “pretty good, almost too loose, at times,’’ while on the mound.
“Which I guess is a good thing,’’ McLean added. “I felt a little erratic, but I think I was just fired up to get out there. It’s hard to explain. I like feeling a little tightness and soreness — I don’t know what you want to call it — when I’m out there.”
Carlos Mendoza noted McLean’s velocity was up, which was another positive sign.
The results were promising and now McLean appears set to take the next step in his development as a top-tier pitcher, joining a pitching staff that includes not just Mets teammate Clay Holmes, but aces like Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes and Logan Webb.
“I’m excited to pick their brains,’’ McLean said. “We’ve got a bunch of Cy Youngs in that building. I’m excited to learn from them and see how they do everything and watch from afar.”
He’ll first have to make sure he bounces back fine Thursday and meet with the training staff, but McLean was encouraged.
“I had no symptoms out there throwing, which I think was the ultimate test,’’ McLean said.
If all goes according to plan, his teammates in Port St. Lucie will be paying attention to how McLean pitches on the big stage, and prospect Carson Benge has little doubt he’ll succeed.
“I feel like he just goes out there and has fun,” said Benge, who played with McLean at Oklahoma State. “He doesn’t care who’s out there or who he’s going up against. That’s all you can do.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
