New York Mets Mike Vaccaro The shine coming off Nolan McLean only solidified his Mets importance By Mike Vaccaro Published Aug. 24, 2026, 5:38 p.m. ET Nolan McLean (26) pitches in the first inning when the New York Mets played the San Diego Padres. Robert Sabo for NY Post Nolan McLean is probably not going to win the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League this year. JJ Wetherholt has held the pole position most of the season, although the Cardinals second baseman is only hitting .193 since July 7. Reds infielder Sal Stewart has surged into a dead heat thanks to a .310/.367/.474 stretch since July 24 and has 28 home runs to go with 98 RBIs.
McLean is generally viewed as the bronze medalist in that race, according to most tracking polls and speculation markets, and that sounds about right. There are some days he might not even seem to be the best ROY candidate on his own team, considering how strong his Mets classmate Carson Benge has been coming on in recent weeks.
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Maybe there’s a sense of missed opportunity given how this has shaken out. But if that’s the case, it’s because of two things:
1. McLean was the odds-on front-runner entering this season, based on a fine eight-game audition at the end of last year and augmented by the fact he was given the ball to start the WBC championship game against Venezuela on St. Patrick’s Day.
