Reese Kaplan - Starting Pitching In-house Options For Next Season

One of the more interesting areas for the Mets to assess for the 2027 season is the projected starting pitching rotation. Despite having gone into the 2026 season with some familiar names slated to have that role when the year began after spring training, as things evolved personnel moved around and it opens up a whole new range of possibilities.

Starting with the easy choices, you would think that going into the new year Nolan McLean is most definitely in that elite five selections. He’s pitched well enough to be a distant fringe candidate for Rookie of the Year and you don’t brush aside that level of competence when it has already established dominance for a great many innings in that starting role. Even with his last start being a clunker he goes into mid September with a record of 11-9 for a losing team, accompanied by a very nice 3.24 ERA, 184 Ks in 166.2 IP and a WHIP under 1.200. He’s the kind of pitcher who is a number one or two on most major league staffs.

Christian Scott has fluctuated between decent and stellar in his first year post Tommy John Surgery recovery. At this point he appears to be showing a little wear which is to be expected having missed a full season but his good days suggest he’s a middle of the pack hurler for sure. His 4-5 record doesn’t stand out but it’s accompanied by 127 Ks in 105.1 IP and an ERA a respectable if not outstanding number of 3.76. With additional rest and conditioning it would be very surprising to see him excluded from that same role again next year.

Late arrival Zac Thornton opened quite a few eyes in several of his starts. With a 4-5 record accompanied by a 3.44 ERA over 13 major league starts he’s most likely written in at worst erasable ink for one of those five starting pitcher assignments. He’s not a huge strikeout guy but he’s excelling at keeping men off base resulting in a low WHIP and a 1.6 WAR rating in his rookie trial. He’s on the most likely list to own one of those rotation slots.

Now Jonah Tong is a bit less a certainty having struggled for much of the 2026 season in Syracuse before turning the corner in August. Coming off as loss in his recent start the man only gave up 2 runs and anyone would accept that level of performance from any pitcher any day of the week. He still hasn’t pushed past the naysayers who want to see him perform effectively like that in every start but the indicators are there that he can be a top notch major league pitcher when all things come together for him both mentally and physically.

You never know which Sean Manaea is going to show up when he takes the mound but in the second half of the season while he hasn’t been pitching at an ace level, he’s been much better than when he pitched himself out of the rotation earlier in the year. He’s under contract for another season and unless the Mets do a pay-down deal he’s likely going to be back with salary dictating playing time. Consequently, right now he would be the 5th man of an otherwise very young starting rotation.

Who else is there vying for those roles? Well, there are a few of them to ponder as well.

Number one on this list is mystery man Kodai Senga who was flat out awful in the starting rotation each of the past few years but surprisingly strong out of the bullpen. With Devin Williams expected to return from injury it leaves the Mets with the question of what to do with Senga. Do they keep him as the closer, make him the 8th inning guy, return him to the starting rotation or use his late 2026 quality as a means to trade his final contract year off to another team to pay?

Tobias Myers could be a contender for a starting slot or he could remain a long man and spot starter out of the pen. Early in the year he looked like a quality find but then he played himself down to Syracuse before a recent return to the major league roster. Consider him very much an outside contender in this race.

Recovering from injury the enigmatic Tylor Megill is still under Mets contract. Like the since traded away David Peterson, Megill has a frustrating ability to look incredible matched by looking just as remarkably bad. He’s likely in the same boat as Myers with a combination of long relief and spot starting in his future with his low price tag offering up filler possibility for the 2027 roster.

On the outside looking in are a pair of youngsters who may have to contend for a pen role rather than one in the starting rotation. Jonathan Pintaro has floated between the rotation and the pen for his minor league career good for a 3.66 overall ERA. That’s good enough to bear watching but not necessarily to pencil into a contending team’s rotation.

Less well known in a major league role is Jack Wenninger. He’s a strikeout capable pitcher who has mostly served as a starter but yet to make his rookie attempt in the majors being handed the ball to begin the game. At age 24 now he’s at the right age to push himself into the rotation mix but he’d have to get past Myers, Megill, Senga and the probable five to do so.