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Nolan McLean has taken New York by storm in his four starts for the Mets.
The New York Mets may not win the National League East, but Nolan McLean makes them dangerous heading into October.
The 24-year-old with just four major-league appearances under his belt was named the Mets X-factor for the postseason by The Athletic in a story that was unveiled Monday.
McLean has been lights out in his four starts since he was called up from Triple-A last month, boasting a 4-0 record with a 1.37 ERA, a sub-1.00 WHIP (0.76) and 28-7 strikeout-to-walk rate.
This stretch has been a continuation of his dominant minor-league season, where he went 8-5 with a 2.45 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings in the minors and had an identical 1.37 ERA in five Triple-A starts.
The Mets still trail the first-place Philadelphia Phillies by seven games atop the National League East standings. New York is currently locked into the final National League playoff spot, sitting four games up on the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants and 4.5 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals with 19 games to play.
Why Is Nolan McLean The Mets’ Postseason X-Factor?
He may be too young to know better, but McLean has come in and stabilized the Mets’ starting rotation.
New York had gone months between quality starts, yet McLean entered his outing against the Phillies on Monday by throwing three straight. Not only that, but he has done so against playoff-caliber clubs, allowing just four earned runs in 26 1/3 innings while facing the Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers — three of which would be in the postseason if the playoffs started today.
All that led Will Sammon of The Athletic to suggest McLean could start Game 1 of all of New York’s potential postseason series next month.
“Mets pitcher Nolan McLean looks like a Game 1 starter,” Sammon wrote. “He has looked excellent in each outing. More to the point, he has pitched like someone who has done this before.”
McLean’s dominance could give the Mets a much-needed advantage, especially in the National League wild-card series — where they appear destined to meet the NL West champs, either the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers and Padres would have homefield advantage in the series, yet McLean’s fearlessness, along with the fact the Mets won a best-of-3 wild-card series in Milwaukee a year ago, make the Mets look mighty dangerous in the first round.
“If McLean remains this good, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mets give him the ball to start a playoff series,” Sammon wrote. “They also may have to.”
Who Starts Game 2 for the Mets?
Beyond McLean, there are serious questions about New York’s pitching, which makes predicting who will be used where a real puzzle.
But the Detroit Tigers proved last year that you can win with just one marquee starting pitcher. Led by 2024 AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, and a loaded bullpen, Detroit knocked off the Houston Astros in the wild-card round before taking the Cleveland Guardians to a do-or-die Game 5 in the ALDS.
The Mets’ starting staff is far more seasoned, playoff-wise, than Detroit’s was last year, especially with the likelihood David Peterson is throwing in Game 2. Peterson went 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA in five playoff outings and one start in the postseason in 2024 and was the Mets’ ace before McLean came up — he is 9-5 with a 3.72 ERA in 27 starts.
Pat Pickens is an experienced sports writer and media personality who has written for outlets like NHL.com, the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today. He covers the NFL, NBA, NHL and NBA as a breaking news contributor at Heavy. More about Pat Pickens
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