People are very hopped up in Flushing over that sweep, probably purring Nolan McLean over Tom Seaver and even Matt Harvey in the all time franchise rankings. Look, it’s better to win than lose, but let me (as always) try to keep you guys grounded.
Let’s take a look at McLean’s stats.
2024 109.2 innings pitched
2025 134 innings pitched.
Yes he’s been awesome so far. Is he going to stay in the rotation? Let me do some lazy math. There are 29 games left in the season. He takes 5 more starts, goes 6 innings each. Now we are at 164 innings.
You probably want him in the playoffs. He wins Game 3 of the Wild Card round, then a game in the NLDS, then 2 games in the NLCS and one game in the World Series! That’s another 5 starts and 30 innings and he’s at 194.
So basically for the Mets plan to work, he needs to double his 2024 innings. This is the same issue I have been screaming about since February – not enough organizational innings to cover the season.
Now maybe the Mets really believe this team can win (they are currently the Third Wild Card despite the sweep) and decide to just go for it – see 2015 Matt Harvey, also high on innings and who knows what else, as an example.
Do you want to break McLean long term because you think the Third Wild Card Positioned 2025 Mets really have a shot at this? If you’re the kind of billionaire who promised a ring within 5 years and this is year 5, maybe you do?
Oh, looking ahead, Tong is also at his career innings high. Holmes has sailed passed his. Senga threw 5.2 innings last year. The Math Doesn’t Math