On Sunday, the Mets made notable promotions within their farm system.
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies will have a unicorn in their ballpark soon. On Sunday, it was announced that the horned one who leaps over rainbows and does other hyperbolic things relating to rainbows will be going from the Brooklyn Cyclones up to the Rumble Ponies.
The most unique prospects the New York Mets have, he’ll get a chance to see if he can carry over his talents to the next level. Welcome to Double-A, Nolan McLean!
The early opinion on McLean’s offense is that it requires some improvement. The fat OPS arises mostly because of power. Mclean hit seven doubles and five home runs in 74 plate appearances for Brooklyn. He hit only.224 with a.297 OBP. Pitchers gained retribution for their colleagues, who went down on strikes frequently against McLean, by striking out 38 times.
McLean struck out 36 hitters in 7 starts spanning 28 innings, with a 2.57 ERA. His 1.07 WHIP and 3.2 walks per 9 innings contribute to his early success in 2024.
Hopefully, having the pitcher-friendly confines of Brooklyn in the rearview mirror will help his bat match what he does on the field.
Nolan McLean will replace an even better Mets pitching prospect in Double-A
To make way for McLean, the Mets made another promotion. Blade Tidwell is advancing to Triple-A after going 2-4 with a 2.41 ERA in 37.1 innings in Binghamton. With 2.7 walks per nine innings and a strikeout percentage of 10.6 per nine innings, this is a well-deserved promotion.
Tidwell will have the opportunity to compete with the other Mets pitching prospects at Triple-A for the same conversation Christian Scott had when he learned he would be making the MLB squad.
Tidwell’s “House Slytherin” look in the eye will have the opportunity to terrify a whole new crop of batters. He’ll be looking for greater success than many of the other Mets pitching prospects on the bus.
Dom Hamel is 1-2 with a 6.48 ERA and more than 7 walks per nine innings in 8 starts. Mike Vasil, after 8 starts, has the same record but an even higher 8.49 ERA. His walk rate is poor at 4.9 per 9.
However, his main issue is with the meatballs. He has allowed ten home runs in 29.2 innings of work.
Tidwell is ranked 10th on MLB Pipeline’s most current list of top Mets prospects, with McLean at 19th, with no additional bonus points for being such a unique talent.
This is the Mets’ second consecutive week of major promotions. Unfortunately, Ryan Clifford has begun 1 for 18 with Binghamton. In his only appearance, Brandon Sproat threw 5 scoreless innings.
