ANGRY MIKE: WHY THE METS SHOULDN’T ACQUIRE ANY ADDITIONAL STARTING PITCHERS -> PART 2: THE ROOKIES

 

ANGRY MIKE 

NOLAN MCLEAN 

McLean has not only secured a rotation spot for the 2026 season, he’s easily the “ACE” the Mets have been desperately searching for ever since Zach Wheeler and Jacob DeGrom left via free agency. In his first full season as starting pitcher, the Mets couldn’t have asked for anymore, as he dominated at all 3 levels he was assigned to. I understand the argument for not wanting to deploy McLean as their #1 starter, but he gives us the best chance to win those games, so there’s really no excuse not to deploy him in that capacity. Having a talented starter capable of matching your opponent’s best starter provides a competitive advantage which cannot be wasted. If McLean can out-pitch Bryan Woo in his MLB debut, he can pitch against anyone, as Woo is one of the fiercest starting pitchers in professional baseball. Having the ability to generate a win against our opponent’s “ACE”, provides a tactical advantage to potentially win the series using Peterson or Holmes. God willing the Mets do make the playoffs, who do you think is going to pitch Game 1?

McLean is a GUNFIGHTER, he’s not intimidated by any pitcher, or by any team’s offense. I may not be an expert, but come hell or high water, that’s who I would like to have when we square off against Woo, Skenes, or anyone else of that caliber.

BRANDON SPROAT 

Sproat had a successful stint in the major leagues, delivering consecutive quality starts against the Reds and Rangers to begin his Major League career. He basically dominated opponents for 16.2 innings, holding them scoreless, racking up strikeouts, and inducing weak contact. Unfortunately, in the three starts he surrendered multiple runs, he ran into trouble in each of those starts and simply couldn’t pitch his way out. Holding 4 tough opponents scoreless for 75% of the time is not an easy feat, and proved first-hand, Sproat has as much upside than as anyone we have. People who say they were unimpressed with Sproat or Tong are being unreasonable, and assuming everyone should perform as well as McLean did in his first 6 starts. McLean first 4-5 starts were HISTORIC, which means nobody matched what he did, not Paul Skenes, Doc Gooden. Bob Gibson, and not even Sandy Koufax. If those 4 legendary pitchers couldn’t replicate what McLean was able to do, I think we can afford to cut Sproat and Tong some slack.

Sproat flashed effortless upper-90s velocity, improved command, and multiple plus breaking pitches. What impressed me most about Sproat and McLean was their demeanor, and how they seem willing to take on any level challenge their team asks of them. Just like McLean had to do, Sproat was tasked with making his MLB debut, against one of the best pitchers in the MLB, and he was matched Hunter Greene inning for inning until the 6th. McLean was able to pitch in front of home crowd, with the luxury of feeding off their energy, whereas Sproat was asked to pitch in front of hostile Red’s crowd and he still didn’t look overwhelmed or intimidated. 

That was impressive.

QUICK REACTION FORCE -> ALPHA SQUAD

Behind McLean and Sproat the Mets have two teams of high impact starters with varying degrees of combat readiness. Alpha Squad, you have Jonah Tong and Christian Scott, both of whom will most likely start at Syracuse for different reasons, but both of whom are available to step into the rotation at a moment’s notice if the need arises. Tong will start at Syracuse to get a little more seasoning and fine-tune his secondary pitches. Scott is returning from Tommy John surgery, and the Mets will continue to be cautious with him and let him work on getting back to peak form at his own pace. They both have MLB experience and have nothing left to prove in the Minors, and if for any reason one or two of the veterans aren’t healthy or ineffective, the Mets have two power arms ready to take their place at a moment’s notice. 

THE ALERT-FIVE AIRCRAFT -> BRAVO SQUAD

Behind Tong and Scott, Jonathan Santucci and Zach Thornton, make up the next wave of impact starters the Mets will most likely have starting at Syracuse. Both left-handed starters excelled at Binghamton last season, and probably only need a couple months at Syracuse before they’ll be ready to make their MLB debuts. Both were drafted out of college and possess complete pitching arsenals, plus command, and the ability to dominate right-handed and left-handed hitters. If for any reason the Mets feel compelled to give either Tong or Scott more time at AAA, or feel the need to replace Peterson or Manea with another lefty starter, they’ll have two excellent choices with the ability to contribute immediately. 

Despite graduating multiple top pitching prospects, the Mets will have potentially 4 more top pitching prospects begin the 2026 season at Triple-A, that type of pitching depth is unmatched and why the Mets farm system has earned a #1 overall ranking and for pitching. The sheer number of top-end starters available within the same development window, makes it hard to understand why we’d waste tens of millions on veterans who might not perform better than players we already have.

There isn’t a more defining competitive advantage for a franchise to have, than what the Mets are building with their contingency of elite pitching prospects. 

Being able to deploy that kind of elite talent 3-4 times a week on pre-arbitration salaries is unheard of. The timing is perfect, consider salaries for that caliber starter is $30-$40 million a year. 

Dodgers’ have a quartet of $125 million AAV starters, so will the Mets, we just won’t have to them that just yet…