Mets: Young pitchers to the rescue, heading to the postseason?

Young Prospects Shine on the Mound: The Mets Bet on the Future

New York Mets catcher Hayden Senger didn’t take long to realize Nolan McLean’s potential to reach the Major Leagues. Both shared a team in Syracuse, where McLean debuted in Triple-A and Senger caught him for the first time. McLean’s “sweeper” impressed Senger like none he had seen before.

It’s crazy.
Hayden Senger

Three months later, with Senger again behind the plate, McLean held the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless for eight innings in his third major league start. McLean used six different pitches, highlighting his “sweeper” with 28 pitches, generating three strikeouts and 10 called strikes. He managed to dominate a contending team with only 95 pitches, electrifying Citi Field. Two days later, the atmosphere in the stadium was ignited again with the arrival of Jonah Tong, considered one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues this season. Tong joined McLean in the Mets’ rotation, limiting the Miami Marlins to one earned run in five innings. On Sunday, Brandon Sproat joined the party, replacing Kodai Senga in Cincinnati and made his MLB debut. Sproat held the Cincinnati Reds hitless for 5⅓ innings, but gave up three runs in six innings, suffering the loss in a game that ended 3-2. In David Stearns’ ideal scenario, president of baseball operations, this trio would have arrived next season. However, the Mets’ need, playoff contenders who required quality starting pitchers due to injuries and the underperformance of veterans, prompted their early arrival.

I think, as you enter the last month of the season, you want to have the best roster possible.
David Stearns

These three right-handed pitchers took different paths to their opportunities. McLean, a former quarterback, was a two-sport athlete at Oklahoma State. Tong, a young Canadian with a peculiar mechanic, and Sproat, with high-level tools in the SEC for the Florida Gators. Together, they highlight a booming farm system, packed with talent under the supervision of Stearns. Before the season, 24-year-old Sproat was considered the best of the three. In prospect rankings, Sproat was ranked number 62, while McLean was at 123 and Tong at 147. However, Sproat struggled early in the season, with an ERA of 6.69 in nine starts for Syracuse through May 20. He recovered with an ERA of 3.19 in his next 17 outings, thanks to increased velocity and movement on his 97 mph four-seam fastball.

Sproat has the best arm talent and the highest potential of the three. The ceiling with him is very high.
Rival scout

Sproat’s pitching ability, according to talent evaluators, is not at the level of McLean and Tong, who were able to advance to the Major Leagues. McLean’s development, at 24 years old, accelerated when he stopped hitting in the summer of 2024, his first full season as a professional. Focusing solely on pitching, the 2023 third-round pick optimized his ability to spin the ball, moving up from Double-A Binghamton to Queens in 2025 and climbing to number 19 in the top 100 prospect rankings. Through four openings, McLean’s curve has the highest average spin rate in the majors, and his “sweeper” is among the best. In addition, he has only conceded seven walks in 26⅔ innings, after averaging four walks per nine innings in the minor leagues.

Despite the lack of experience in pitching and being a two-way player, McLean was always the safest bet.
Rival Scout

Tong, 22, was so far down the Mets’ depth chart in 2025 that he wasn’t invited to major league camp in spring training. Selected in the seventh round in 2022, Tong produces the highest arm angle of any pitcher in the majors this season. With this unusual mechanics, he has used his 12-6 curveball, a changeup he added this season, and an explosive fastball to dominate minor league hitters. He posted a 1.43 ERA in 22 starts in Double-A and Triple-A, climbing to number 21 in prospect rankings and quickly reaching the majors.

It’s a real development win for the Mets.
Rival executive

Development wins don’t count in the standings, and World Series trophies aren’t handed out for farm system rankings. The Mets would have preferred not to rely on three rookies in September. However, a starting rotation without a proven ace, plagued by injuries and underperformance during the summer, forced the Mets to turn to their young talents. Senga, one of the two starting pitchers planned for the Mets this season, missed a month with a hamstring strain. Sean Manaea, the other planned starter, has an ERA of 5.60 in 10 starts after missing more than three months with an oblique strain. Tylor Megill was placed on the injured list with a sprained right elbow in mid-June. Griffin Canning ruptured his left Achilles tendon less than two weeks later. Frankie Montas, with a two-year, $34 million contract during the offseason, recorded an ERA of 6.68 in seven starts before moving to the bullpen and tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. In mid-August, the Mets turned to their prospects for help. In October, a club with championship aspirations and the second-highest payroll in the sport could end up counting on the three youngsters to win important games, much earlier than expected.