Do the Mets really have the next Ohtani?



A (pitching) analysis of Nolan McLean. 


After the emergence of Shohei Ohtani, teams are eager to find the next two-way star. So when the Mets drafted Nolan McLean in the third round and allowed him to continue to hitting and pitching it was not a surprise. But can he really pitch and hit at the MLB level? I can only answer the pitching part of that question and the answer is yes. As @James_Schiano said on @MetsdUp McLean's slider is good enough to be an MLB reliever right now. It is special, with 3,200+ RPMS and speeds approaching 90 MPH it would be one of the best in the MLB. As a reliever McLean reminds me of Orion Kerkering, you might remember him as the young Phillies reliever who dominated the mets last year. His slider was thought to be one of the best the league had ever seen, and McLeans slider might be even better. Kerkering’s slider peaks at about 3,000 RPMS where as McLean regularly touches 3,200.


The slider paired with his fastball that touches 98 would make him a lethal reliever. However, the Mets think he could be a starter. They gave him a cutter to compliment his slider and fastball and are building him up by pitching 2 or 3 innings at a time. I can see why the Mets would want to make McLean in to a starter. His delivery is smooth and repeatable. The ball explodes out of his hand with seemingly effortless velocity. 


Scouts say that McLeans pitching may develop too quickly for his batting to keep up (MLB pipeline). While he does have incredible power there are doubts it will be enough to be a MLB DH. Also remember Paul Skenes was a two way player with light tower power before last season. At some point pitchers get too good to keep hitting and I believe that point will come eventually for McLean. But if he is developed properly McLean could be at least a multi-inning reliever and at most a two or three starter. And who knows maybe he is the one of the rare athletes who can sustain hitting and pitching, and the Mets could have their very own Shohei Ohtani.

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