The New York Mets were mostly a veteran team this year, so breakout opportunities weren’t exactly plentiful, especially early on when the Mets were playing well. That changed in the second half, of course, especially with the pitching staff, and one major prospect clearly stepped up as the best breakout candidate.
Nolan McLean not only broke out, he came close to carrying the Mets to a division title. McLean went into the 2025 season as the 5th-ranked prospect in the Mets system, but he skyrocketed up into baseball’s Top 100 according to Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra, who did a piece on breakout prospects for MLB.com.
He finished with a 2.45 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, according to the three writers, and his 1.19 ERA through his first six starts in the majors also stood out. In fact, it was the all-time best for the franchise, and that includes the likes of Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.
McLean is now considered the best pitching prospect in all of baseball, to the point where the Mets are currently involved in building out their rotation around him.
His meteoric rise makes it tough to project McLean’s 2026 season, however. McLean was actually a two-way player as recently as 2024, so there are a lot of unknowns going into this year. He’ll get a spot in the rotation almost automatically, with an unofficial innings count of approximately 150, based on the number he threw last year in the minors and for the Mets.
But McLean wasn’t the only breakout candidate. If there was an “honorable mention” category, pitcher Brandon Sproat would get the nod there, and he’d have company, with starter Jonah Tong right on his heels.
Sproat didn’t perform at the same record-setting level as McLean, but his first two starts for the Mets were impressive. He went six innings in both and gave up a total of just three runs, and the six shutout innings he pitched against the Texas Rangers on Sept. 13 got Mets fans excited. Sproat faltered in his next two starts, but he’ll get a chance to be a part of the rotation this spring.
Part of the decision about Sproat revolves around the Mets’ remaining pitching decisions this offseason. The Mets currently have a glut of veteran starters who underperformed this year, and at least one or two will be moved to make room for McLean and possibly Sproat to join the rotation.