The New York Mets' rookie Nolan McLean dazzled in his 2026 debut, striking out eight batters through five innings. He's already proving his undeniable talent.
Sunday’s game brought the highly anticipated first start of the year for the New York Mets’ right-handed rookie Nolan McLean against the Pittsburgh Pirates. There’s little left to doubt about McLean after his first major league stint at the end of 2025, but his first start of 2026 offered even more to get excited about for Mets fans.
As expected, he delivered in his first outing of the year, going for five impressive innings against the Pirates’ lineup.
It started a little shaky for the 24-year-old as he walked his first two batters of the game, but nerves were to be expected. He swiftly struck out the next batter and was able to get out of the inning with just one run crossing home. It may not have been perfect, but McLean showed his composure on the mound.
The second inning was a breeze for the pre-season No. 6 prospect in baseball, going 1-2-3 with two strikeouts. Some slight trouble returned in the top of the third for McLean, as he gave up a solo home run to Pirates second baseman Brandow Lowe. Two more baserunners got on base against McLean before finally striking out his fourth of the game to get out of the inning.
The first three innings weren’t perfect, and there were a couple of mound visits, but McLean showed resilience to allow as little damage as possible from his mistakes. He must have gotten tired of having to do damage control, however, as he came out firing at the top of the fourth.
McLean dealt his way through another 1-2-3 inning, getting it done with a groundout, flyout, and strikeout in just eight pitches. It was only right that the final pitch of the inning was a nasty 90 mph kick change that dove out of the zone to get Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum swinging.
There was one more inning for McLean on the day, and he again wowed fans with his performance. Starting the fifth with another strikeout, McLean gave up a double before fanning out his final two batters faced.
McLean’s final stat line for his first start of the year reads five innings, four hits, two runs, and eight strikeouts.
Some expected bumps arose for the rookie’s first outing of the year, but he more than proved his readiness as an MLB pitcher – not that many were doubting it. When he gets more comfortable on the mound and can hone in on his command from the first pitch, McLean on the mound will be a terrifying sight for every batter in the league. There’s no doubt the Mets have a special talent on their hands.