Crossfire: Call Up McLean or Sproat?

I’d call the Mets’ starting pitching their Achilles’ heel the last two months, but the whole team has played poorly since June 12. However, only David Peterson has pitched six innings or more for the team over the last two months. That’s bad.

Frankie Montas has been perhaps the worst culprit, averaging right around 4 1/3 innings per appearance since his season debut in late June. His time in the rotation should end for 2025. Paul Blackburn makes sense to get his start the next time around on Friday. But in reality, it’s time the Mets call up one of their top prospects.

Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean have both had success at Triple-A Syracuse over long stretches this year. They’re two of the Top 5 prospects in the system. They desperately need someone who can pitch effective innings to start the game. Chris and I debate who the team should call up for the final six to seven weeks of the year.

The Case for Nolan McLean

Nolan McLean is the best prospect in the Mets’ system. Where basically every other pitcher who’s spent time at Triple-A this year struggled for a stretch (the International League remains offense-happy), McLean has dominated since he was called up from Binghamton in early May.

Here’s McLean’s run over the last three months for Syracuse: 87 1/3 innings, 97 strikeouts, 1.099 WHIP, and .184 average against. He does it with a solid fastball in the mid-90s and a hellacious slider that could easily get major leaguers whiffing. He’s given up more than three runs in appearance just twice out of 16 times. And better yet, he’s averaged around 5 1/3 innings per appearance with the team monitoring his innings. And that’s probably the one argument against McLean.

He passed his 2024 innings threshold (109 2/3) last week with 113 2/3 innings this year. You figure he may only have 20-30 innings left this year. He was limited to four innings and 47 pitches his last time out. If he only has a couple dozen innings left this year, I’d argue he should throw those innings for the MLB team.

The Case for Brandon Sproat

While McLean might have the better stuff compared to Brandon Sproat, the former Florida Gator is the more polished option.

Sproat finished 2024 with a cup of coffee in Triple-A, and has truly refined his game this entire season in Syracuse. The overall 4.10 ERA on the season isn’t spectacular, but Sproat recorded a superb July, pitching to a 0.67 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in five starts.

The improved results come from Sproat’s deep arsenal. He throws a four-seam fastball and sinker that sit in the upper 90s, a sweeper and slider in the mid-80s, then a curveball and changeup. It’s less predictable for hitters, and it’s a complete overhaul from the flamethrower he was in college. And while the strikeouts and whiff rate aren’t there for Sproat, the ground-ball rate is at 54.5% and infield pop-up rate is at 21.2%.

Sproat also has an edge over McLean innings-wise. The righty pitched in 116 1/3 innings last year, 106 1/3 in his final year at Florida, and is at the 101 mark on August 12. There’s no reason to believe Sproat couldn’t reach the 130-plus inning mark this season, which would equate to four to six starts in the majors if he were called up later this week for his debut.

– Chris Bello