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.”