The pairing of right-handers Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean will be one of the most dominant in Major League Baseball.
The result of the New York Mets’ blockbuster trade for two-time All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta could end up being the best one-two punch in the National League and maybe even all of Major League Baseball.
Peralta is a legitimate ace in this league, and he has shown it since becoming a full-time starting pitcher in 2021, the first season he was selected as an All-Star. Peralta has struck out 200 or more batters in three consecutive seasons, solidifying himself as a reliable premier talent and elite swing-and-miss guy (30.1 percent whiff rate, tied-seventh in MLB).
His 28.2 percent strikeout rate in 2025 ranked eighth among qualified pitchers according to Baseball Savant, which will certainly pair well with New York’s top prospect pitcher Nolan McLean.
McLean was called up late last season as the Mets tried to save their season, and while the club still missed the playoffs, it wasn’t because of McLean. The 24-year-old made eight starts for New York and was excellent, becoming the first pitcher since 2014 and in franchise history to win his first four MLB starts.
Over his eight starts (48 innings), McLean went 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 1.04 WHIP while striking out 57 batters. Before the Chicago Cubs lit him up for five runs in his final start, McLean carried a 1.27 ERA into the contest. He gave up three of his four home runs during that outing.
We’ve seen pitchers go on a tear to start their career and fizzle out, which is always a possibility with young players. But McLean dominated hitters in a way that hasn’t been before.
“Ground-ball specialists typically don’t double as premier strikeout artists, but McLean (MLB Pipeline's No. 6 overall prospect) did both during his eight-start debut season with the Mets in 2025,” MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan wrote Tuesday.
“In fact, the 24-year-old became the first starting pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) to post a ground-ball rate of at least 60% on 100 or more batted balls while also striking out at least 30% of opposing hitters. That combination contributed to a 2.06 ERA, making McLean one of the Mets' few bright spots amid a second-half collapse that cost the team a playoff berth. The right-hander looms as one of New York’s most important pitchers entering 2026.”
Those numbers might not be sustainable, and the sample size is quite small, just 48 innings. But even if McLean can’t maintain those marks over a full season, the Mets shouldn’t be worrying about his effectiveness. Some regression should be expected and that’s okay, but don’t be surprised when McLean is still dominating hitters all season long doing much of what he did last year.
The pairing of Peralta and McLean will be nasty. Teams will hate facing those guys in a three-game set and definitely in a playoff series, but the Mets need to get there first and the offense needs to support the pitching staff to make it to October.