If you were worried about the long-term health of the New York Mets‘ pitching staff, take a breath and look at the latest rankings from MLB Pipeline.
The Mets have officially landed two arms in the top 10 right-handed pitching prospects list for 2026, creating an enviable surplus of power pitching that most organizations spend decades trying to build. Leading the charge is Nolan McLean, a player who has already proven he belongs under the bright lights of Citi Field, followed closely by Jonah Tong, whose raw stuff might actually be better than the numbers suggest.
This isn’t just a prospect list; it is a blueprint for how President of Baseball Operations David Stearns intends to build a sustainable contender without spending $500 million every winter.
Nolan McLean: The “Untouchable” Ace in Waiting
It is rare for a prospect to shed the “future” label so quickly, but Nolan McLean’s 2025 cameo effectively ended his development phase.
The 24-year-old posted a stunning 2.06 ERA over 48 innings in the majors last season, striking out 57 batters and looking every bit like a frontline starter. What separates McLean is a pitch mix that feels lab-created for the modern game, headlined by a sinker that averaged 95 mph and generated a ground-ball rate north of 60%, and a curveball that posted an absurd 50% whiff rate.
The Mets view him as a potential ace, and frankly, the data supports that optimism. His ability to miss bats while keeping the ball on the ground is the holy grail of pitching, allowing him to navigate tight spots without relying solely on strikeouts. He has essentially become untouchable in trade talks, a testament to how quickly he has transitioned from a two-way curiosity into a legitimate rotation pillar. The days of wondering if he can stick as a starter are over; now, the only question is how high his ceiling truly goes.
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Jonah Tong: Don’t Let the MLB Debut Fool You
While McLean was busy dominating big-league hitters, Jonah Tong was quietly putting together one of the greatest minor league seasons we have seen in years. Tong was named the 2025 MiLB Pitching Prospect of the Year after posting a microscopic 1.43 ERA and striking out 179 batters across Double-A and Triple-A. His transition to the majors was admittedly rocky—a 7.71 ERA in five starts isn’t what anyone wanted—but context is everything when evaluating young arms.
Tong possesses an elite fastball with over 20 inches of induced vertical break, a trait that makes the pitch look like it is rising as it crosses the plate. When he locates it at the top of the zone, it is virtually unhittable, but his command wavered during his brief MLB stint, leading to hard contact.
However, the raw ingredients of a top-of-the-rotation starter are undeniable, and the Mets would be foolish to sell low on him just because of a small sample size of struggles. If he can refine his command and trust his secondary stuff, specifically that “Vulcan” changeup, he offers the kind of high-upside profile that could make him the perfect complement to McLean for years to come.