Updated Post – Aug. 13 at 11:07
Mets pitching prospect Nolan McLean will be called up to make his major league debut on Saturday, per Andy Martino of SNY. McLean will start against the Mariners at Citi Field.
McLean, 24, has a 2.78 ERA (third lowest in the International League) and 97 strikeouts in 87 1/3 Triple-A innings this season for the Syracuse Mets. Before his promotion to Triple-A, McLean had a 1.37 ERA in five starts for Double-A Binghamton.
The .184 batting average against McLean in Triple-A is the best in the league among pitchers with at least 80 innings.
We had McLean ranked No. 4 on our updated Mets prospect list, and MLB Pipeline has the right-hander at No. 37 in the sport. His highest ranking is No. 34 by Baseball Prospectus.
Updated Post – Aug. 13 at 07:20
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports Paul Blackburn is rejoining the Mets in a bullpen role. Blackburn was originally scheduled to make one more rehab start on Wednesday for Triple-A Syracuse, but the Mets had to use the bullpen for 5+ innings in Tuesday’s 13-5 win over the Braves. Justin Hagenman tossed four of those innings, allowing no hits and striking out five, and will likely get optioned to Triple-A to make room for Blackburn.
The Mets have yet to decide on a starter for Saturday, with prospects Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat as options. Triple-A Syracuse currently has Sproat as their probable starter on Thursday and McLean on Sunday.
Original Post – Aug. 12 at 17:30
Frankie Montas will be heading to the bullpen. Carlos Mendoza made the announcement to reporters ahead of this week’s three-game series against the Braves.
No starter has been announced as Montas’s replacement. That new starter will take the hill on Saturday against the Mariners, and Montas will be available to pitch in relief starting on Thursday. That means barring anything unforeseen, Sean Manaea will move up to take Friday night’s start on four days’ rest.
Saturday’s starting pitcher will not be Paul Blackburn. Blackburn, who has been fully stretched out during his rehab stint, will make another start for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday.
Top prospects Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat are “definitely in the conversation” to make that start, according to Mendoza.
Our latest Crossfire includes an argument for both McLean and Sproat. McLean last pitched on Sunday and Sproat last pitched on Thursday. They’re two of the Top 5 prospects in the Mets’ system. McLean is currently a Top 50 prospect in all of baseball, and Sproat was on multiple Top 100 list ahead of the season. Sproat stumbled coming out of the gate this year.
The Mets will be looking for whoever makes that start to help turn the tide of the rotation. No starting pitcher other than David Peterson has completed six innings in the last 53 games, a modern MLB record, and the team is 18-31 in its last 49 games.
