Mets' Nolan McLean Lands on List Every MLB Starter Wants to Be On

The New York Mets look like they have found a star to build the rotation around.

Mar 29, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (26) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It certainly seems like the New York Mets have found a young star to help anchor the starting rotation into the future.

Nolan McLean is just 24 years old with 10 total big league appearances under his belt. He made eight starts in 2025 and two so far in 2026. In just those 10 starts, he's been able to put himself into elite company with Major League Baseball stars including Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela and most recently, Paul Skenes. MLB Stats shared on X that McLean became just the fifth player in big league history since earned runs became an official stat to log at least 2.21 ERA and 65 strikeouts in his first start.

"Nolan McLean through his first 9 MLB starts: 2.21 ERA, 65 Ks," the account shared. "The only other pitchers to reach those marks since ER became an official statistic in 1913: Paul Skenes (2024), Orel Hershiser (1984), Jose DeLeon (1983), [and] Fernando Valenzuela (1981)."

The young Mets hurlers looks like a budding star

Apr 3, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (26) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Nolan McLean through his first 9 MLB starts: 2.21 ERA, 65 Ks

The only other pitchers to reach those marks since ER became an official statistic in 1913:
Paul Skenes (2024)
Orel Hershiser (1984)
Jose DeLeon (1983)
Fernando Valenzuela (1981) pic.twitter.com/wb3KSRzVQq

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) April 4, 2026

It's not every day that you put yourself on a list like this. Earned runs became an official stat in Major League Baseball in 1913, as the account shared. That means that we've seen over 100 years of MLB history and just this group of hurlers has been able to reach these marks. Not guys like Clayton Kershaw, or Roger Clemens, or Randy Johnson, or Pedro Martínez, or Shohei Ohtani, or Max Scherzer, or Justin Verlander and the list goes on and on.

This group of five, including the two over the last few seasons in Skenes and McLean are on a different level, to at least begin a career. Now, it's a small sample size. How will McLean — or Skenes, for that matter — look in five years? What about 10 years? Who knows. Injuries come into play and production shifts. But right now, McLean is on a heater that very few players in the history of the game have been on.

McLean made his 10th start on Friday and continued his dominance. He went 5 1/3 innings for New York and allowed just one earned run while striking out four San Francisco Giants. The 24-year-old is red-hot right now, much earlier than big leaguers typically are. He made his debut and clearly was big league ready. There's usually a bit of a learning curve, but not for the young righty.