The Mets Will Need Pitching Prospects McLean And Tong Down The Stretch

New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

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The New York Mets expected to cruise into the playoffs with their star-studded roster. At 71-61, that hasn’t happened, and they’re currently clinging to the last wild card spot. To fend off the Cincinnati Reds and gain ground on the teams above them, they’ll turn to pitching prospects Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong.

McLean And Tong

McLean will take the mound this evening for the third start of his MLB career. He’ll face the Philadelphia Phillies, who lead the Mets by five games in the National League East. He has been exceptional in his first two outings, giving up just six hits and two runs in 12 1/3 innings while striking out 15.

McLean is currently ranked the 37th best prospect overall on MLB Pipeline, and his August 16 debut date ensures he should maintain rookie eligibility in 2026. He throws in the mid-to-high 90s with an assortment of excellent breaking pitches that he used to post a 2.45 ERA in 113 2/3 innings in the minors this year.

Tong, who will make his debut on Friday, ranks right behind McLean at 44th overall on MLB Pipeline’s top prospect list. His minor league numbers jump off the stat page. He leads the entirety of the minor leagues in ERA (1.43) and strikeouts (179), and he has allowed just two home runs in 113 2/3 innings.

Tong has an exceptional fastball, but not in the conventional sense. It only reaches the low 90s on the radar gun, but has elite movement characteristics. He throws from an extreme over-the-top delivery, making his release point difficult for hitters to pick up. He also features a classic curveball with a big break.

Plan B

Relying on unproven prospects, regardless of how well they’ve pitched, wasn’t the original plan for the Mets this season. They spent big this winter, especially on outfielder Juan Soto, and entered the year with a $340 million payroll—second in MLB only to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Aside from Soto, most of the moves they made this offseason addressed the pitching staff, and they took questionable routes to compile it. They signed reliever Clay Holmes with the intent to convert him to a starting pitcher. That experiment has been a success, as he hasn’t missed a start and has a 3.60 ERA. Their acquisitions of Griffin Canning and Frankie Montas haven’t worked as well. Both are injured right now, and Montas has been ineffective when healthy.

Injuries have been a major problem for the Mets. They have 14 players on the injured list at the moment, including 10 pitchers. They’ve lost the third most playing time to injuries in MLB this season according to the Baseball Prospectus Injured List Ledger.

Kodai Senga has been excellent in the rotation with a 2.77 ERA, and David Peterson earned a surprising All-Star nod with his 3.18 ERA. Along with Holmes and Sean Manaea, McLean and Tong will join them to form a six-man rotation. With unproven prospects expected to start 33% of their games the rest of the way, the Mets will need their rookie pitchers to grow up fast.