NY Mets spring training preview: 1 prospect who's about to become a fan favorite

Nolan McLean is one of the most intriguing prospects in the New York Mets system. After being drafted in the third round of the 2023 MLB draft, he quickly gained buzz as a two-way player. Over his three years at Oklahoma State, he pitched to a 4.55 ERA over 57.1 innings with 76 strikeouts to 34 walks and a WHIP of 1.50. At the plate, he slashed .270/.396/.561 with 36 home runs and 96 RBIs.

However, after a season and a half in the minors, McLean has decided to abandon his attempt to be a two-way player and focus solely on being a pitcher. Yet despite losing his uniqueness, he still has a lot to offer the Mets organization. He's currently the ninth overall prospect in their system according to MLB Pipeline. He's also someone that is going to become a fan favorite come spring training.

Why Mets fans are about to fall in love with Nolan McLean

Over his season and a half in the minors, McLean posted below-average hitting numbers and average pitching numbers. However, after transitioning into only a pitcher, his numbers got much better. In the finale three months of the season, McLean pitched to a 2.74 ERA over 52 innings with 46 strikeouts to 24 walks and a WHIP of 1.23. It's a small sample size, but putting up those numbers at the Double-A level is impressive.

These numbers become more impressive when you figure he didn't have a set routine. Sure, he had a routine and training scheduled that worked for him, but this was put together on the fly. Since McLean was a two-way player, his training and routine revolved around what could make him the best at both. To end last season, he probably cobbled together a regimen similar to what he was already doing. That might work in the short term, but not the long term.

But with a whole offseason to train and figure out what works for him, we can assume McLean has developed a routine that works for him. Something that allows him to build off the success he saw towards the end of last season.

According to MLB Pipeline scouting report, McLean is a pitcher who relies on three pitches. Those being his fastball, sweeper, and cutter. He also can throw a curveball and changeup, but those have become backup pitches, and ones he barely goes to.

Yet it's his fastball and sweeper that will make fans fall in love. His fastball sits around 95-96 mph which can get up to 98. It's a pitch that can get outs, simply by how fast it's moving. That fireball style is something the Mets are currently lacking. To complement that high velocity is his dirty sweeper. A sweeper that has an average rpm of 3,000, causing the ball to have an insane amount of movement.

When fans see these pitches live in spring training they're going to be excited for McLean's future. He's a guy who dominates with two pitches and could develop into a great reliever or a good starter. Depending on how the bullpen or back end of the rotation performs, we may even see calls for the Mets to promote him to Queens in 2025.