Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat share more than a spot on the NY Mets roster

The New York Mets starting rotation has gotten a massive facelift over the last month. Nolan McLean has made an outstanding first impression through his first four starts in the Major Leagues. Jonah Tong is living up to his hype in his first two outings. Now, the Mets are calling upon Brandon Sproat. Between these three, there is a lot of hope moving forward with the Mets’ pitching staff. However, two of these young hurlers, particularly McLean and Sproat, share something more than just an active roster spot for the Mets.

Both McLean and Sproat were originally taken in the third round of the 2022 draft. The Orioles selected McLean with the 81st overall selection. Coming out of Oklahoma State, McLean was a two-way player. He hit .285/.397/.595 with 19 home runs through 290 plate appearances. He also tossed 25.1 innings out of their bullpen with a 4.97 ERA, 11.7% walk rate, and 35.1% K%. Heading into the draft, McLean was ranked as the 115th best prospect by MLB Pipeline and the 135th best by Baseball America, both highlighting his big fastball and power at the plate, but struggles with walks and control.

Then, eight picks later, the Mets took Brandon Sproat with the 90th overall selection. The right-hander spent the 2022 season working out of the University of Florida’s starting rotation. He owned a 3.41 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 2.48 K:BB ratio. Sproat had a 21.5% K% and an 8.6% walk rate, but his biggest strength came with limiting the long ball. He put up just a 0.50 HR/9 ratio over his 89.2 innings of work. MLB Pipeline ranked Sproat right around McLean, placing him as the 117th best draft prospect in ‘22. BA was more bullish on his potential, ranking him at #75.

Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean have both gone from unsigned third round draft picks to Major League pitchers.

Either way, neither the Orioles nor the Mets could come to terms with either player. Both would head back to college for another season. McLean pitched more innings and still worked as a two-way player. He had a 3.30 ERA while striking out 24.1% of opponents and not allowing a home run in 30 innings, including three starts. He also hit .250/.379/.532 in 153 plate appearances while seeing time in right and center field. Issues with strikeouts at the plate and walks on the mound still persisted, with a 37.3% K% while hitting, and a 12.1% walk rate while pitching. Regardless, the Mets still took McLean in the third round. He improved in the eyes of Pipeline, rising to their 97th-best draft prospect, but fell in BA’s opinion to the 184th spot in their rankings.

Sproat saw an uptick in multiple stats, like ERA (4.66), walk rate (10.3%), and home runs per 9 innings (1.27). But he also improved in many areas as well. He allowed fewer hits, with his hits/9 falling from 8.43 in ‘22 to 7.36 in ‘23. His K% also rose to 28.8%. His K%-BB% now sat above 15%, coming in at 18.5%. Sproat’s overall prospect stock was a lot higher, as he ranked as Pipeline’s 54th best draft prospect and Baseball America’s 48th best. According to Pipeline, they note some improvements he has made in his control. Unlike McLean, the Mets took Sproat a round earlier than they did in 2022, as he was the 51st overall selection of the draft.

Since getting drafted in 2023, both pitchers have become two of the most promising members of the Mets’ pitching staff. McLean’s 1.37 ERA is the lowest by any Mets pitcher through their first four starts of their career. Sproat may have gotten off to a slow start to the season, but owns a 3.13 ERA and 25.7% strikeout percentage since the beginning of June. Hopefully, these two are part of a strong (and young) starting rotation for the Mets for years to come.