McLean Gave New York A Solid Start Yesterday, But There’s Still Work To Be Done

New York Mets got a quality start from Nolan McLean, which was big news for a change. McLean was coming off to two bad starts and he gave them five innings of one-run baseball even though he walks five hitters. 

The fact that this was news speaks to the high expectations surrounding McLean. The Mets were expecting McLean to compete to be to get to be their staff face, but right now the Mets don't have a ace. Freddy Peralta has underperformed, and as a result, the Mets are desperate for McLean to step up. 

The Mets have been working with McLean's on throwing his secondary pitches for strikes, according to a piece written by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He still hasn't mastered the concept, but McLean was able to keep the Marlins from hitting his fastball when he got behind in counts. 

“This is the first time he’s been challenged at this level,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But if somebody’s equipped to make adjustments and go out there and compete, it’s Nolan.”

McLean was helped considerably by the Mets offense. He's been pitching with almost no margin for error so far. but yesterday he got an early lead, and the Mets kept hitting. 

The Mets starter says he still working on his mechanics, and sometimes McLean becomes his own worst enemy in that regard. He has six pitches to play with, and McLean can be a bit of a tinkerer. 

“It’s still a work in progress,” McLean said, as he told DiComo he’s still working on specific adjustments. “I thought at times I kind of got away from what I’ve been working on between starts. So hopefully, I can continue to clean it up.”

The eye test tells a different story, however. When McLean throws a quality strike one, he becomes almost unhittable at times. That happened when McLean needed to tighten things up and get outs, which forces him away from his tendency to become  a perfectionist who sees each hitter as an opportunity for another strikeouts. 

Those quality first strikes could also be a game changer for McLean in another way. They give him the opportunity to lower his pitch count and go deeper into games, which is something they're not getting from Peralta, who's basically been a five-inning pitcher. 

McLean can be more than that. He's already shown the ability to be dominant, and when he gets on a roll, he can carry the Mets with him. It's not too late for that to happen, but it does need to happen quickly.