NEW YORK — Nolan McLean has always looked, acted, old for his age.
He became the starting quarterback of his high school football team as a sophomore. He had a full beard at junior prom. He entered senior year at a broad-shouldered 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. Even now, as a 24-year-old rookie, McLean strikes a seasoned, experienced figure.
On Wednesday in Queens, the Mets’ starlet hurler delivered a scoreless, eight-inning masterclass in a 6-0 defeat of the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies. In his third career MLB outing, McLean punched out six and did not walk a batter. Facing one of the sport’s most experienced lineups in a crucial divisional showdown, McLean was in complete control — unbothered, unfazed, untouchable.
“He made it look easy,” Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza raved after New York’s victory. “It’s just everything about the kid, you know, not only what we’re seeing on the mound but just the way he carried himself.”
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McLean was in command all night, keeping the Phillies off-balance with a barrage of breaking balls. He worked ahead of hitters and conjured weak contact early in counts. Before a Bryce Harper single with two outs in the seventh, McLean had faced the minimum, the only blemish a second-inning Alec Bohm single wiped out by a double play.
“I’ve always been a believer in my stuff. I’m a confident guy,” he told reporters after the game. “Obviously, the hitters here are the best in the world, and I know that, but I also know, like, I have good stuff, and if I go there and execute, I can get a lot of guys out.”
The rookie’s sparkling performance propelled the Mets to a galvanizing sweep of their division rivals. Citi Field has been quite the horror show of late for the Phils, who have lost their past 10 games, postseason included, in Queens. Philadelphia arrived in the Big Apple on Monday morning seven games clear in the NL East. In a humbling blink, that lead has been trimmed to four. Both clubs have 29 games left on the schedule. They will meet once more, for a four-game set in Philadelphia from Sept. 8 to 11.
New York’s recent leap back into divisional contention has been yet another twist in what was already a tumultuous season. A disastrous stretch earlier this month had seemingly pushed the Mets out of the NL East picture. From July 28 through Aug. 15, the club went 2-14. That schneid was caused, in large part, by the rotation’s inability to work deep into games. For the better part of two months, southpaw David Peterson was the only starter providing length. That stretched the bullpen past its breaking point and sent the Mets tumbling down the standings.
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But since McLean debuted on Aug. 16, the Mets are an invigorating 8-3. They have won all three of the righty’s starts. Across those outings, he has been electrifying, surrendering three runs in 20 1/3 innings while striking out 21. It is, statistically, the best three-start beginning to a pitcher’s career in Mets franchise history. But even more importantly, McLean’s dominance has supplied the club with a season-altering injection of quality. In just three starts, the conversation has gone from “Let’s see what this kid has got” to “Would he start Game 1 of a playoff series?”
It has been quite the ascent for McLean, a former two-way player cruising through his first season as a full-time starting pitcher. Drafted in the third round out of Oklahoma State in 2023, McLean was a primary position player in Stillwater, often moving from third base to the mound to close out games. He boasted light-tower power — he once hit a ball 472 feet, opposite field — but an overabundance of swing dampened his offensive profile.
For a year, the Mets let him play both ways. Only once McLean dropped the bat did his trajectory as a pitcher skyrocket.
Raw athleticism and competitive poise have been staples of McLean’s game dating to his days as a highly touted, two-sport prep prospect. He was prioritized by the Mets’ draft and development team primarily because of his ability to spin the baseball. But McLean’s mastery thus far in the bigs of pitching’s artful side has been the most surprising and most impressive part of his swift success.
McLean’s deep arsenal — he threw six different pitches on Wednesday — creates a dynamic of unpredictability for hitters. Against the Phillies, for instance, he threw more curveballs than four-seam fastballs. The shift in priority from development to dominance between the minors and majors seems to fit much better with McLean’s intense on-mound personality.
That, according to Mendoza, might be one reason McLean has been a much better strike-thrower and pitch-executer as a big leaguer.
“You get to this level, man, and, you know, guys like that, they’re wired differently, you know? They just take it to the next level,” Mendoza said.
“Ice in his veins when the moment is tight and hot,” third baseman Mark Vientos said.
The moment was indeed simmering on Wednesday. And for the likely playoff-bound Mets, things will only get hotter as the weather gets cooler.
Through three starts, McLean has shown himself to be particularly adept at handling the heat.
