How about that?
In a franchise that has developed the likes of Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and Cy Young Award winners Dwight Gooden and Jacob deGrom, it’s one Nolan McLean who stands alone as the first New York Mets starting pitcher to break into the league with three wins in a row.
The wins could not have been more welcome, either. Mere two victories away from clinching a World Series berth last season, 2025 has by and large been more sulk than celebration in Flushing.
Not even edging out their rival Yankees in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, thereby supercharging their starting nine in the process, could mask the sheer fact: the Mets have been ace-less for quite some time.
In 2015, the last time the Mets won the National League pennant, they held more starters in their rotation with certified “appointment viewing” status than they didn’t possess: “deGrom day" domination, Matt “The Dark Knight” Harvey, Nasty Noah and so forth.
David Peterson has put together an All-Star campaign; there is value in the type of reliability the southpaw has delivered, of course. But move the needle, he nor Sean Manea has not.
Kodai Senga has been shaky on providing length, and another Yankee-clipped free agent signing in Clay Holmes has seemingly reached a wall in his return to starting. Before turning out 6.1 innings in his last outing, he had not completed 6 since June 7.
With no “studs” in the staple, it was high time for the Mets to pull the trigger on a top prospect mid-season.
To stay afloat in the three-headed wild card race, and perhaps even make a divisional push was the mission, with a 2023 third-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State University instantaneously winning favor with hearts, minds and the entirety of the city that never sleeps becoming a subsequent byproduct.
Five and a third innings to debut against a solid contender in Seattle? OK. Seven innings pitched against the down-trending Atlanta? Respectable. But his sweep-solidifying performance against the first-place Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night? An A1 crash course in piloting a one-man, tour-de-force takedown.
“He’s a stud, man,” Mets third-baseman Mark Vientos confirmed in response to the right-handed hurler’s eight scoreless frames post-game, a 6-0 victory for New York.
“It’s so fun to be a part of what he does on a day-to-day basis,” he added.
“Day-to-day basis” is of note; though starting pitchers only take the ball every fourth or fifth day, the intangibility of what routinely strong offerings can bring to the air surrounding a clubhouse in dire need of breathing room as the schedule tightens—is as palpable as it is priceless.
Moreover, what exactly Nolan has done: already supplanted the most famous “McLean” in impeccably short order as the most Google’d figure bearing said surname.
Does the mid-90s fastball, high 70s breaking ball and overall corner-painting artist actually hold serendipitous staying power, or Mark Fidrych-esque fleetingness that will have him too singing “Bye Bye, Miss American Pie?”
In any event, for now, McLean has everyone and their mothers, and the local New York sports media they ritualistically consume, deep in the throes of this debate.
Is he a one-hit wonder? Or is he the real deal incarnate who can stand to help his team win the last game of the season for the first since “Crocodile Dundee” was the number-one film at the domestic box office?
Crikey; only time will tell.