Mets’ Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong earn impressive MiLB Awards in 2025

McLean, 24, was not included in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list at the start of the season but quickly made a name for himself with a dominant start in Double-A. The former two-way prospect went 3-1 with a 1.37 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts over 26.1 innings with Binghamton before earning a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse in early May.

After joining Triple-A Syracuse, McLean posted a 2.78 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 10.0 K/9 rate across 87.1 innings. He held opponents to a .184/.285/.291 slash line, and his 53.5% groundball rate ranked third in the International League. His performance earned him the top ranking among Mets pitching prospects (No. 3 overall) and propelled him to No. 36 in MLB’s Top 100.

McLean made his big league debut on Aug. 16, and by the end of the regular season, he was unquestionably the most dependable arm in the Mets’ rotation. In eight starts, the right-hander went 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts over 48 innings.

Tong, 22, ranks No. 4 in the Mets’ system and No. 43 on MLB’s Top 100. Before joining McLean in Queens, the right-hander made 20 starts with Binghamton and two with Syracuse, combining for one of the most dominant minor league seasons on the mound statistically in recent history.

Over 113.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, Tong posted a 1.43 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, with 179 strikeouts and just two home runs allowed. According to MLB Pipeline, he is the first pitcher to lead the minors in both ERA and strikeouts since MiLB restructured in 1963.

Tong experienced mixed results in the majors after making his debut in late August. In his first two big league outings, he allowed eight runs (five earned) on nine hits, with four walks and 12 strikeouts across 11 innings.

But Tong struggled in his third start, yielding six runs and recording only two outs before being pulled. He bounced back with eight strikeouts and one unearned run over five innings on Sept. 18, but struggled again in his final outing last Wednesday, allowing five runs in two innings against the Chicago Cubs. Overall, he posted a 7.71 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, and a 10.6 K/9 rate in five MLB starts.

Read More: Insider says to expect these Mets changes in the offseason

Since neither McLean nor Tong exceeded 45 days of service time or crossed the 50-inning threshold with the Mets, both pitchers will retain their rookie status entering 2026. The same applies to No. 5 prospect Brandon Sproat, who had a 4.79 ERA and recorded 17 strikeouts in 20.2 innings with New York.

The Mets could be rewarded with a compensatory prospect promotion incentive (PPI) draft pick at the end of the first round if any of these pitchers win Rookie of the Year or finish in the top three in Cy Young or MVP voting next year.