PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- On Thursday, before departing for the World Baseball Classic, Nolan McLean made his only Grapefruit League appearance, facing the Astros in West Palm Beach. If there were any doubts as to his sharpness, the Mets rookie right-hander answered them with six strikeouts over four shutout innings, hitting 98 mph on the radar gun multiple times.
On Sunday, McLean will fly to Arizona alongside another Mets starter, Clay Holmes, to join the rest of their American teammates. His expectation is to pitch “at least twice” in the WBC, piggybacking with another starter. His workload in those outings will be similar to the 56 pitches he threw against the Astros.
“I don’t have a ton of expectations on what I’m going to go out there and do,” McLean told reporters in West Palm Beach, “but I’m just super excited to go do it.”
McLean made his MLB debut last season in mid-August and was a revelation. He won his first four starts and finished 5-1 with 2.06 ERA across eight regular-season starts, striking out 57 batters over 48 innings. He maintained his rookie eligibility for this season and ended 2025 as the Mets' top prospect and 11th overall, per MLB Pipeline.