Mets’ plan for stud pitching prospects as ‘tremendous’ Nolan McLean dominates way up system

For various reasons, the Mets do not seem likely to debut any of their valued starting pitching arms soon.

The most obvious reason: There is not a need for a rolling rotation that is expected to soon have the rehabbing Paul Blackburn as an option and Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas able to help in the coming months.

The less obvious: Brandon Sproat’s struggles at Triple-A Syracuse have continued, Jonah Tong’s domination has come with Double-A Binghamton and Nolan McLean — arguably the closest to being deemed ready — will not be rushed, president of baseball operations David Stearns signaled Wednesday.

McLean already has jumped one level, dominating in five starts with Binghamton (1.37 ERA) before a promotion to Syracuse, with whom he began well: seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts on Friday.

Stearns said McLean has done a “tremendous job” but declined to talk major league timelines regarding the 2023 third-round pick.

“I think we’re going to let him perform at Triple-A,” Stearns said before the Mets finished a series with the Pirates at Citi Field. “His first start was great. That was great to see and look forward to watching him continue that.”

Sproat, meanwhile, was roughed up for six runs in 4 ¹/₃ innings Wednesday, raising his ERA to 5.85. His command (three more walks) has lagged, and he continues to figure out his changeup — a devastating pitch at its best but one that has been off this season, including one that was crushed for a grand slam on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, the Mets’ pipeline has enjoyed a strong start to the season (which included a Blade Tidwell call-up and ensuing option back to Syracuse). Further down in the system is Matt Allan, the high-profile 2019 draft pick who entered this year having not pitched in a game since ’19 because of multiple elbow procedures.

The 24-year-old righty pitched well in seven games with Low-A St. Lucie and has been bumped up to High-A Brooklyn.

“Incredibly happy for Matt. Incredibly happy for our entire rehab group and medical staff that put in a lot of effort with him,” Stearns said. “It’s a great story. I think we’re all rooting for him incredibly hard knowing what he’s gone through. And now to be able to take these positive steps in his career is pretty cool.”