The next top NY Mets prospect we should expect called up to the big leagues

The NY Mets haven't had that many top prospect promotions. However, this top pitching prospect is knocking on the door to the Major Leagues.

Noah Wright

Mar 15, 2024; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean participates in the Spring Breakout game against the Washington Nationals at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The New York Mets haven’t had a huge need this season to promote some of their best prospects. Sure, former second-round pick Blade Tidwell made his MLB debut earlier this year, Ronny Mauricio made his long-awaited return to the Major Leagues, and Luisangel Acuna opened the year on the NY Mets’ Opening Day roster. But the Mets’ next big promotion to the Major Leagues could be one of their top pitching prospects.

That pitching prospect is Nolan McLean. The right-hander was originally drafted as a two-way player in the third round of the 2023 draft. McLean attempted to maintain his two-way status throughout the minor leagues but completely dropped his hitting during last season. The focus solely on pitching has seemed to help him, at least based on his performance.

McLean owns a 1.98 ERA, 3.52 FIP, and 1.17 WHIP across 58 innings of work between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. McLean has struck out just over a quarter of opponents with a 25.7% K% and has not allowed home runs at a high rate, with a 0.46 HR/9. Walks have always given McLean some trouble, but his 10.8% walk rate isn’t outright horrible and is definitely playable. Since getting promoted to Syracuse, McLean has held opposing batters to a 4.9% barrel rate and has induced a whiff percentage of 24.9%.

Expect Nolan McLean to be the next Mets prospect to get promoted to the Major Leagues.

McLean has a far better chance than his fellow Triple-A rotation mate, Brandon Sproat. Although Sproat entered the year ranked higher than McLean, he’s struggled badly so far this season, with a 5.33 ERA/4.90 FIP. Given how much rotation depth the Mets have, one may argue that outfielder Drew Gilbert has an inside track to be the next Mets’ prospect to get promoted. This is a possibility, but Gilbert still has a sub-.700 OPS at Syracuse.

McLean is ranked as the Mets’ second-best prospect by Baseball America. They also rank the right-hander as the 69th-best overall prospect in baseball. McLean is the most MLB-ready player in the Mets’ system, and he’s doing well at Triple-A, which is something other Mets’ top prospects at Syracuse can’t say. He may have to overcome the wealth of pitching talent the Mets have in the Major Leagues right now, but his performance speaks for itself, and there definitely will be an opportunity for him to get the call this year.

Noah Wright

Noah is a life-long Pirates fan who started his baseball writing journey on a blog he started with his friends in 2018 before his senior year of high school. He has since been writing for Rum Bunter starting in 2019, and Rising Apple since 2024. He grew with his favorite Pirates players being Francisco Liriano, Mark Melancon, A.J. Burnett and Andrew McCutchen, watching them bring the Pirates back to October baseball in 2013 through 2015. Noah graduated with a bachelor's degree in sport management in 2022 from Pennwest University, and also has expereince in baseball operations and as a college baseball video scout. In his free time, Noah enjoys playing video games and reading Marvel comics on his favorite characters like Spider-Man and The Punisher.