New York Mets‘ Nolan McLean took the ball for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic final against Team Venezuela on March 17 at LoanDepot Park. Moreover, McLean showed he can pitch in high-pressure game situations.
While the 24-year-old has yet to pitch in the postseason, his performance against the Venezuelans showed that the Mets could count on him if the team can play intense games in October.
Against Venezuela, McLean went 4 2/3 innings, only giving up two earned runs on four hits while recording four strikeouts. Despite being in the NL East, Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper didn’t hold back his thoughts on McLean’s potential after seeing his performance in the WBC final.
“He’s a special talent,” Harper said of McLean on March 17 (h/t SNY). “He’s going to be a special talent for a long time. We got a lot of great young guys in there that are going to play again on this team. And baseball is in a really good spot. It’s in a really good situation. And there’s a lot of young talent in all countries.
“I think the world saw that baseball is a great game, a lot of fun to watch, and the cultures from every other country and ours as well. It’s one of the best sports in the world, and to be able to bring people together and teams together and players together to do that these last two weeks has been a blast.”
Jim Duquette Gets Blunt on Mets’ Nolan McLean
Moreover, SNY’s Jim Duquette believes that with McLean getting through the WBC injury-free, the Mets pitcher showed flashes that he can take the ball in these pressure moments. With Opening Day a few days away, McLean can also use his outing against Venezuela as a confidence booster that can allow him to hit the ground running in 2026.
“With the velocity, this was another level in terms of 98 miles per hour, 97 miles per hour,” Duquette said on the March 18 edition of “Baseball Night in New York.” “His sweeper, or breaking ball, had the best spin rate and the biggest break that we’ve seen, I think, even going back to last year. And really, how do you handle that type of moment? He’d never been in that moment before, like a pressure-type situation.
“Last year, it wasn’t everything all on the line. It wasn’t a postseason berth there, too. So I think, for being able to replicate what you might experience in the postseason, this was huge growth. And I thought he made great adjustments, which I wasn’t quite sure of from his previous start.”
Nolan McLean Will Look to Improve Off 2025 Season
McLean was 5-1 with an ERA of 2.06 and 57 strikeouts in eight appearances in his rookie season in 2025, per StatMuse. The Mets pitcher will now turn the page to the 2026 season as New York looks to get back to the postseason after a disappointing campaign last year.
New York will look to dethrone the Phillies as AL East champions as it enters Year 2 of the Juan Soto era and adds new faces such as Bo Bichette.
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