Overview
- In the championship start for Team USA, the 24-year-old worked 4 2/3 innings with two earned runs on four hits and four strikeouts in a 3–2 loss to Venezuela.
- FanGraphs data showed his four-seamer averaged about 98.1 mph and touched 99.2, with increased break across his secondaries compared with last season.
- Over two WBC starts, he totaled 7.2 innings with a 5.87 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and eight strikeouts, and he was the only U.S. starter charged with a loss.
- Bryce Harper praised McLean as “a special talent,” and SNY analysis pointed to growth in both stuff and composure in a high-pressure setting.
- McLean said he would accept another Team USA invitation, and reporting projects him as the Mets’ likely No. 2 starter behind Freddy Peralta in 2026.