Quinton Fesq
Nolan McLean is getting the ball in the biggest game of his life. The New York Mets pitching prospect will start the World Baseball Classic championship game for Team USA, confirmed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and later echoed by Team USA manager Mark DeRosa himself after the Americans beat the Dominican Republic in the semifinals. DeRosa didn’t hesitate when he was asked. “He said ‘I’m built for this. I’ve been waiting my whole life for something like this,'” DeRosa recalled from the phone call he made to McLean about the WBC roster. That’s the kind of answer that gets you the ball in a championship game.
It’s a remarkable turn of events for a 24-year-old who, just 6 days ago, was the central story of one of the biggest upsets in WBC history.
The Italy Start Was Rough — Full Stop
On March 10th, in Team USA’s final pool play game against Italy, McLean got knocked around in a way nobody saw coming. The 1st inning looked like exactly what you’d expect: 3 up, 3 down, all strikeouts. He looked every bit the pitcher who posted a 2.06 ERA over 8 MLB starts in 2025 with a 30.3% strikeout rate and a 2.97 FIP.
Then the 2nd inning happened.
After retiring the first 2 batters without much drama, McLean allowed a solo home run to Kyle Teel, then hit Jac Caglianone, then gave up a 2-run shot to Sam Antonacci to right-center. Italy led 3-0 before the inning was over. He bounced back in the 3rd, getting 2 outs before a walk, a stolen base that became a 2-base error, another walk, and a forceout got him out of the inning with no further damage, but the pitch count and the situation had already gotten away from him.
USA lost 8-6 in what most are calling a legitimate all-time WBC upset. The offense was essentially invisible until Gunnar Henderson hit a home run in the 6th to spark a late rally that came up short. McLean didn’t cause the loss by himself, the bats going cold for 5+ innings will do that, but his 2nd inning was the turning point.
Here’s the context that matters though: Italy is a left-handed heavy lineup, and McLean’s sinker-slider combination that made him nearly untouchable in 2025 plays differently against lefties who can get extended on those pitches. That’s not an excuse, it’s just the shape of what happened. His stuff was never the problem. The matchup got him.
What Nolan McLean’s Teammates Say
It would be easy to overreact to 1 bad outing in pool play. The guys in the clubhouse clearly aren’t. Bryce Harper went on record saying McLean was the best arm he saw all of last season, which is a genuinely staggering thing to hear from a guy who faces elite pitching every single night.
“I told him the other day I don’t give pitchers much credit as a hitter,” Harper said, “I think he was the best arm I saw last year.” Kyle Schwarber said he looks forward to more matchups with him. Andy Pettitte, Team USA’s pitching coach, had already seen his bullpen sessions before McLean ever threw a competitive pitch in the tournament. “I’ve seen bullpens. I love everything about him,” Pettitte said, and named McLean as his choice for a potential championship start.
That’s the resume of the guy they’re running out there. Not the 2-inning Italy outing. The 48 MLB innings in 2025 where he was worth 1.2 WAR, held hitters to a .200 average, and posted an 84.1% strand rate that suggested the results were real, not just smoke. His Stuff+ was 113 overall, with his curveball grading out at a 151. His sinker sat 94.8 mph on average and played well above its velocity because of the elite groundball rate it generated, a 61.1% GB% that ranked among the best in baseball.
McLean summed up the opportunity to learn alongside his Team USA rotation mates pretty cleanly: “We’ve got a bunch of Cy Youngs in that building so it’ll be really cool to kind of learn from them, see how they handle everything, and watch from afar at the same time.”
When asked about starting the championship game tomorrow, McLean didn’t flinch. “You’re crazy if you don’t want to do this,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable experience for me.” He acknowledged the Italy outing directly, “Obviously I got clipped there a couple times with the homer, but overall, felt really good,” then framed the whole moment the way a competitor would. “As a competitor, if you work your whole life at something, you want to be put in these spots. It’s a dream come true to be able to get the ball in such a big moment. It’s something I want to do.” That’s not bravado. That’s a 24-year-old who genuinely wants the moment. He also mentioned that a few of his Mets teammates are expected to make the trip to Miami to watch him pitch, which says plenty about the kind of respect he’s already built in that clubhouse before throwing a single regular season inning in 2026.
Italy Rematch or Venezuela — Both Cases Are Compelling
Italy and Venezuela play in the other semifinal, and either outcome sets up a fascinating championship matchup for McLean.
If Italy wins, it’s a rematch, and that’s the storyline that writes itself. The same team that tagged him for 3 runs and helped produce the tournament’s signature upset would be standing between Team USA and a gold medal. Italy’s lefty-heavy lineup would be the test again, but McLean would be walking into that game with full preparation, a rested arm, and the kind of chip-on-the-shoulder motivation that tends to produce sharp outings.
His 3-pitch mix — sinker, slider, curveball — is built to keep hitters off balance when the command is right. Against Italy in pool play, the command in that 2nd inning wasn’t. In a championship game, with DeRosa and Pettitte game-planning around that specific lineup, it’s a different conversation.
If Venezuela wins, it’s its own kind of challenge. Venezuela just knocked out Shohei Ohtani and a loaded Team Japan squad in the quarterfinals, a result that turned heads across the tournament. Their lineup isn’t left-handed heavy the way Italy’s is, which could actually play to McLean’s strengths rather than against them. His sinker-slider combination against a right-handed dominant lineup is closer to what he was doing in 2025 when Harper was calling him the best arm he’d seen. Venezuela has the talent to make any pitcher’s life difficult, but McLean matching up against a team that just beat Japan is exactly the kind of moment this generation of Mets prospects was built for.
Either way, McLean takes the mound in a championship game before he’s thrown a full MLB season. For a 3rd-round pick out of Oklahoma State who posted a 2.06 ERA in his MLB debut year and is already drawing comparisons to top-of-the-rotation starters, the stage doesn’t look too big. DeRosa already knew that before he even asked.
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