Nolan McLean bolsters NL Rookie of the Year case with sharp outing vs. Rangers

Abbet Mastracco, New York Daily News on Sep 23, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Nolan McLean put the last lines on his NL Rookie of the Year resume Wednesday night, giving the Mets as dominant a start as they could have asked for.

The rookie right-hander capped a stellar season with a seven-inning performance against the Texas Rangers. The Mets were unable to give him much run support, but his overall body of work speaks for itself.

Marcus Semien homered against his former team in the top of the eighth to help to break a tie and put the Mets ahead for good in a 7-2 win at Globe Life Field, and Brett Baty capped the win with a grand slam in the top of the ninth to help the Mets cement a series win. It’s a blow to the Rangers, who are three games out of the AL wild-card standings and came into the game tied with the Houston Astros at the top of the AL West.

But what the Rangers go on to do after the Mets leave town doesn’t matter to the visitors. What matters is another win, more progress made, and McLean’s Rookie of the Year case.

McLean finishes the season with a 3.16 ERA over 31 starts. He didn’t miss a single one, which speaks to his durability, and he pitched 179 2/3 innings, tied for the 11th most of all starters.

A starting pitcher used to be expected to make 30 starts and pitch 200 innings annually, but only two pitchers will reach that innings threshold this season: Miami’s Sandy Alcantara and Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez. The only rookie starter who logged more innings than McLean is Cleveland’s Parker Messick. McLean went at least six innings in 15 of his last 17 starts, and allowed two runs or fewer in 17 of his last 19.

The 25-year-old ranks among the top 10 in the National League in opponent average, strikeouts and ERA. He struck out 194 hitters with his array of spinning pitches, the most among all qualified rookies.

Against the Rangers, he no-hit the lineup through the first four innings before giving up a leadoff single to Brandon Nimmo in the fifth. Two batters later, Jake Burger hit an RBI single to left to score the former Mets outfielder and cut the Mets’ lead to 2-1. The bottom of the order gave McLean trouble, and he was nearly out of a bases-loaded jam with a double play, but No. 9 hitter Evan Carter beat the throw to first base, allowing the tying run to score.

He got Wyatt Langford to pop one up in the infield for the third out. Then, he recovered in the sixth, retiring the side in order, and did the same in the seventh. McLean held Texas to two earned runs on three hits, walked one and struck out five.

The middle innings were challenging for McLean at times this season, and there were times early on when he wasn’t able to get out of jams. It’s tough to remember he ever had outings like that given what he’s done since July. McLean learned to get through those outings by adjusting his pitch mix.

His ability to recover might be the most impressive aspect of his season. There were entire outings where he felt as though he didn’t have his best stuff, and went to other pitches he typically only uses in specific situations instead. You’d never know he was struggling by looking at the scoreboard.

McLean primarily works off of his sinker and curveball. The latter has the highest spin rate in baseball, and the former has the second-best run value.

Carson Benge, his college teammate at Oklahoma State, may end up receiving more votes than McLean, and the right fielder has a chance to win it all. Still, McLean is pitching like a seasoned veteran already, and should be recognized for it.

Juan Soto hit his 27th homer of the season in the third inning off left-hander Cody Bradford, who went 4 1/3 innings, and struck out one. Semien hit his 15th of the season, and Baty’s grand slam came off former Mets right-hander Trevor Williams for his 11th of the year. The series concludes Wednesday afternoon.