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23 articles
NYM • Pitcher • #26
1 day ago
Watching McLean pitch doesn’t even make sense sometimes. He was perfect through five innings in this one and the way he can break off wicked sweepers and curveballs leaves opposing hitters dumbfounded. Same for sinkers that can saw-off righties and shock lefties when they land on the inner edge after that started behind their back. Yet, once the Twins turned the lineup over they found some success. Byron Buxton launched a 3-1 cutter for a two-run homer in the sixth inning and then they scratched across another run in the seventh. That soured McLean’s final line on a night where it looked like he could’ve gone all nine early on. Alas, McLean is lined up to face the Rockies at home next time out.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
8 days ago
McLean was lights out in a tough matchup against the Dodgers, going head-to-head with Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He gave up a run in the first inning on a walk, double, and a groundout before settling in for six more scoreless frames, scattering one more hit and one walk while striking out eight batters on 12 whiffs. The 24-year-old right-hander has been sensational so far, posting a 2.28 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and a 28/8 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings. McLean is in line for a start against the Twins in New York next Tuesday.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
14 days ago
The 24-year-old right-hander racked up eight strikeouts on the night while walking a pair. He kept the Diamondbacks off the board for the first six innings, but he returned for the seventh and allowed a leadoff walk and a one-out single before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Luke Weaver came on and allowed both inherited runners — and a couple more runs — to score, which left McLean on the hook for a tough-luck loss. He got just six swings and misses on 100 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 32 percent. Now 1-1 on the season, he’ll carry a 2.70 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and a 20/6 K/BB ratio into Tuesday’s tough matchup against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
19 days ago
The rookie right-hander punched out four batters on the evening while issuing a pair of free passes. All of the damage done against him came in the sixth inning as Willy Adames delivered an RBI double and Patrick Bailey scampered home on a passed ball. McLean got 10 whiffs on 93 pitches in the contest, posting a middling CSW of 26 percent. He’ll tote a terrific 2.61 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 12/4 K/BB ratio (10 1/3 innings) into Thursday’s matchup against the Diamondbacks.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
25 days ago
McLean walked the first two batters he faced today and then gave up a run on a single. The other run came on Brandon Lowe’s homer in the third. McLean never walked another after those first two, and he amassed a strong 38 percent CSW today. He threw his secondary pitches 43 times and didn’t give up a hard-hit ball on any of them. The 24-year-old will face the Giants in his second start.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
about 1 month ago
Mendoza added that David Peterson will follow Opening Day starter Freddy Peralta before McLean gets the ball on Sunday against the Pirates at Citi Field. He’ll be followed by Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga with Sean Manaea being used in a piggyback role, as needed. The hard-throwing 24-year-old top pitching prospect will make his season debut with an extremely favorable matchup at home after a starring role in the World Baseball Classic earlier this month. He’s a top-25 range fantasy starter in remaining drafts.
Source: Max Goodman
NYM • Pitcher • #26
about 1 month ago
McLean topped out at 99.2 mph tonight and averaged 98.1 mph. That’s 1.3 mph better than his lone spring start before the WBC and 2.5 mph better than his eight starts for the Mets last season. Now we just have to hope he stays healthy for at least the next couple of months and hopefully throughout the season if we ever want to see a young ace pitch in the World Baseball Classic again.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
about 1 month ago
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa made it official that McLean will get the ball for the deciding contest of the international showcase against either Venezuela or Italy. The hard-throwing 24-year-old top pitching prospect allowed three runs over two innings against Italy his last time out earlier this week. The big question for Team USA’s pitching staff is whether closer Mason Miller will be available since it would be his third appearance in the last five days.
Source: Deesha Thosar
NYM • Pitcher • #26
about 1 month ago
McLean was brilliant in the first, striking out Jakob Marsee, Jon Berti and Vinnie Pasquantino on 11 pitches, but he gave up homers to Kyle Teel and Sam Antonacci in the three-run second. McLean, who dealt with an illness earlier this month, threw 55 pitches in the contest and averaged 97.1 mph with his fastball. That’s 1.3 mph better than his 2025 average.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
about 2 months ago
He’s still on pace to make his WBC start against Italy. McLean was apparently suffering vertigo-like symptoms, but appears to have shaken his illness. He remains a fine target in the bottom half of the top-100 picks this season.
Source: Laura Albanese
NYM • Pitcher • #26
about 2 months ago
McLean is scheduled to start against Italy on Monday, but the right-hander will obviously need to get healthy for that to take place. The good news for fantasy managers is that there’s no reason to think McLean won’t be ready for the start of the regular season.
Source: ESPN
NYM • Pitcher • #26
about 2 months ago
He topped out at 97.9 miles per hour on the gun (a tick up from last year) and retired 12 of 14 batters faced, allowing just a single to Jeremy Peña in the first inning. McLean struck out 6 and threw 56 pitches. The upside is sky high here as his ADP continues to climb into the top 100 players. His next start should come in the World Baseball Classic.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
4 months ago
Clay Holmes, too. While it’s exciting news, we don’t really love this idea for McLean, since it could add to the injury risk. Primarily a position player at Oklahoma State, McLean has seen his innings count jump from 33 in 2023 (the year he was drafted) to 110 in 2024 and to 162 last season. There haven’t been any red flags yet, but having the 24-year-old fully amped and facing, say, a loaded Dominican Republic lineup in March might not be the best thing.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
7 months ago
McLean gave up five hits, walked two and struck out 11. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed more than two runs for the first time in his eight-start career Thursday. McLean posted a career-high 11 strikeouts. He finishes with a 2.06 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 48 innings. McLean is lined up to pitch in the first game of a potential Wild Card playoff series should the Mets make it that far.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
7 months ago
McLean was only going to make one additional regular-season start anyway, so there aren’t any significant fantasy ramifications for the move, but it does line him up to take the ball for the first game of a potential Wild Card playoff series should the Mets make it to the postseason. The 24-year-old rookie sensation has been magnificent this season with a microscopic 1.27 ERA and 46/14 K/BB ratio across 42 2/3 innings over seven starts in his first taste of the big leagues.
Source: Anthony DiComo
NYM • Pitcher • #26
7 months ago
The unearned runs came in the second after Juan Soto let a single get by him in right and then Pete Alonso botched an easy toss to McLean covering first base. McLean ended up allowing four hits and four hard-hit ball, none of which produced any of the hits. He got six strikeouts with 16 whiffs and a 39% CSW. He left down 3-0, but since the Mets came back to tie it, he remains 4-1 with a 1.27 ERA through seven starts. He’s could make his next start Thursday against the Cubs or Friday in Miami.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
7 months ago
We’re just going to assume Jacob deGrom showed up to give him some words of encouragement after the game. McLean left with a two-run lead, but it was blown right away by Brooks Raley and Reed Garrett in the seventh. McLean won his first four major league starts before the Mets started to Met. He’s 0-1 while allowing a total of one run in his last two outings. He’ll face the Nationals next weekend.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
8 months ago
McLean had unusually good velocity tonight, with his sinkers and fastballs up by about 1.5 mph from his previous outings, and he got 13 missed swings. Still, he wound up allowing seven hits, all of them singles. McLean dropped to 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA through five starts. He’ll likely make his next start Sunday against the Rangers.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
8 months ago
McLean piled up seven strikeouts on the night while issuing three walks. The Tigers scratched out a pair of runs against him in the opening inning — on run-scoring singles by Spencer Torkelson and Wenceel Pérez. The 24-year-old right-hander then took over and allowed just one hit the rest of the way. McLean generated eight whiffs on 90 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 33 percent. He has been brilliant through his first four big league starts, going 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and a 28/7 K/BB ratio over 26 1/3 innings. He’ll look to continue that dominance when he takes on the Phillies in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
8 months ago
Wow, just wow. McLean completed eight innings for the first time in his young career after tossing seven innings for the first time last time out. Those two starts came against the Braves and Phillies – the Mets’ greatest rivals – and his dominance has completely shifted the energy of a team that looked lost just a few weeks ago. He faced the minimum through 6 2/3 innings and showed tremendous mettle to escape the eighth with his shutout intact after putting runners on first and third with no outs. He was surgical with his sweeper and sinker as they teamed up to torment the right-handed batters while he had an incredibly balanced attack against lefties. Overall, he threw six total pitches and all six forced multiple swings-and-misses. This looks and feels like the birth of a potential ace. McLean is scheduled to face the Tigers on the road next time out.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
8 months ago
This kid is downright unbelievable. He became the first Mets pitcher besides David Peterson to complete six innings since June 7th and first to complete seven innings since April 13th! Those are inconceivable dates. Regardless, McLean showed a totally new approach in this start compared to his impressive debut against the Mariners last Saturday. In that game, he threw a heavy diet of breaking balls and hunted strikeouts. Here, he leaned much more heavily on his fastball and sinker. He still managed to force 11 swings-and-misses while the Braves hit 13 of their 17 total balls in play on the ground. That’s how he was able to be so efficient and work so deeply into this game. He made superstars Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson look foolish time and time again and we may be witnessing the birth of something special here with McLean. He has another huge challenge coming up with the Phillies coming to town for his next start.
NYM • Pitcher • #26
8 months ago
McLean authored a brilliant performance in his big-league debut on Friday against the Mariners, piling up eight strikeouts over 5 1/3 scoreless frames. He topped out at 97 mph on his fastball and his signature sweeper was on point throughout the contest. The 24-year-old righty made enough of an impression that he’ll keep his spot in New York’s rotation until further notice. There are some lingering command issues, which showed up with four free passes during Friday’s outing, in addition to some workload concerns down the home stretch. However, McLean offers enough strikeout upside to be fantasy-relevant in all formats over the final six weeks. He should be rostered in all fantasy leagues.
Source: Laura Albanese
NYM • Pitcher • #26
8 months ago
McLean was outstanding in his major league debut, holding the Mariners scoreless into the sixth. He scattered two hits and walked four batters while collecting eight strikeouts on 11 whiffs. The 24-year-old right-hander is in line to make his second start against the Braves in Atlanta on Friday.