Every organization has that one pitching prospect whose name starts circulating early, whose stuff and upside draw whispers long before the debut. For the Mets, that pitcher was Jonah Tong. His talent is real, his ceiling remains high, and the organization still believes in him. But if the conversation is about the pitcher Mets fans should be most excited about heading into 2026, it’s not Tong anymore.

It’s Nolan McLean — and the numbers make that case louder than any scouting report.

McLean’s debut wasn’t just promising — it was dominant

McLean didn’t sneak into the league quietly. He stormed through his first taste of MLB action, posting a 2.06 ERA across 48 innings and flashing the kind of pitch mix that overwhelms hitters on both sides of the plate. His strikeout rate (10.69 per nin

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