Team USA has one of the strongest starting rotations in the upcoming WBC, and New York Mets phenom Nolan McLean is a big reason why the rotation is considered so strong. McLean is still scheduled to make his initial start against Italy on Monday despite a bout with vertigo, and he’s tentatively penciled in for the finals assuming Team USA gets that far.
Multiple outlets have posted the rotation, which includes the only start of the tournament by Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, and McLean is up fourth:
Logan Webb vs. Brazil
Tarik Skubal vs. Great Britain
Paul Skenes vs. Mexico
Nolan McLean vs. Italy
Quarterfinal - Webb
Semifinal - Skenes
Final - McLean
But McLean still needs to clear a couple of hurdles for this to happen, according to Marc Feinsand of MLB.com. He’s still with the Mets in Florida, and McLean’s problem has been diagnosed as what the pitcher called a “vestibular viral infection” that presented with vertigo-like symptoms. He says he’s better than he was when he experienced the initial symptoms, and he hasn’t missed any throwing days.
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa will definitely leave the green light on for him, though, assuming McLean continues to improve.
“He’s been a little under the weather down at Port St. Lucie,” DeRosa said in a report written by Maria Guardado of MLB.com. “He’s down there right now, and we’ll kind of reassess that day to day.”
The manager has a lot of Cy-Young caliber pitchers to rely on, though, if McLean has a setback. He’s happy to talk about the rotation, which should make Team USA dominant throughout the tournament.
“They change the game for us, no question about it,” DeRosa said. “That’s no disrespect to the other guys. First off, you want the guys who want to be in the room. If you get them on the phone and they’re kind of wanting to walk through everything and have their schedule laid out for them, this is not the tournament for them.”
The process of adding each pitcher was different, DeRosa added, and with McLean it’s all about his health right now. McLean wants this badly, and according to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, “as of right now, he’s going to be cleared.”
McLean will pitch a minor league game on a back field today, and if he passes that test he should be good to go. The Mets starter, who’s being joined on the WBC pitching staff by teammate Clay Holmes, says he lost five pounds when he first experienced the symptoms, but he’s since gained them back.
McLean has already had one dominant tune-up start, and the question of whether he’ll continue to be dominant against international competition almost seems irrelevant at this point. The Mets starter may be a rookie, but he’s already pitching like someone who could challenge Freddy Peralta for the role of ace and get Cy Young votes if he stays healthy and makes 30 starts.