Nolan McLean, Photo by Ed Delany of Mets Minors
The Mets made a series of minor league promotions on Sunday, including Blade Tidwell, one of their top pitching prospects, and two-way player Nolan McLean.
According to Will Sammon of the Athletic, the Mets are promoting pitcher Blade Tidwell and outfielder Rhylan Thomas from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Syracuse. This coming after it was reported that two-way player Nolan McLean was being promoted from High-A Brooklyn to Double-A Binghamton earlier Sunday afternoon.
Tidwell was drafted by New York in the second round of the 2022 MLB Amateur Draft from the University of Tennessee. The now 23-year-old has appeared in five games for Double-A Binghamton this year, tossing 37 1/3 innings with a strong 2.41 ERA. Tidwell has struck out 44 batters this season to go along with only 11 walks. His FIP and xFIP of 2.41 and 3.21, respectively, further indicate an extremely strong season thus far for the right-handed starter.
Last season, Tidwell split time with High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. In total, he posted a 3.88 ERA across 116 innings. He struck out 153 batters but did struggle with walks, giving up 63 free passes. The year he was drafted, 2022, Tidwell threw 9 1/3 innings between the Florida Complex League and with Low-A St. Lucie, allowing just two runs.
Tidwell, who has developed a new cutter this season in Double-A, has showcased strong stuff and the ability to be a top prospect sine debuting as a professional. With arguably his biggest weakness the last couple years, walking batters, improving immensely so far this season (dropped 4% points from last season and at a career-low 7.5%), he is an extremely intriguing prospect that may help the Mets before season’s end.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Rhylan Thomas is set to reach the Triple-A level for the first time in his career. After an extremely strong 2023 (.832 OPS across three different levels), Thomas has backed that up this year with a .315/.373/.391 slash line thus far.
The former 11th-round draft selection has a unique skill set where he hits for a high average while not striking out much to go along with a solid eye at the plate. This is evident by the fact he walked just as many times as he struck out over his college career, and he posted an absurdly high .407 on-base percentage last season.
Tidwell and Thomas join a Triple-A Syracuse team which has been tremendous this year. The Triple-A Mets are 27-16 on the season and feature top prospects in Luisangel Acuña, Dom Hamel, and Mike Vasil.
Tidwell was Metsmerized’s preseason No. 12 prospect in the system. Thomas was not ranked within Metsmerized’s preseason top 35.
First reported by Daniel Wrexler, the New York Mets are promoting two-way player Nolan McLean from High-A Brooklyn to Double-A Binghamton. McLean, a third-round pick during the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft, has excelled as both a pitcher and hitter in 2024.
As a pitcher, he started seven games for Brooklyn, posting a 2.57 ERA. Across 28 innings of work, he allowed only 20 hits to go along with 36 strikeouts. His fastball sits in the mid-to-high 90 mph range. Impressively, McLean owns a 2.66 FIP, indicating his strong results are well deserved.
At the plate, McLean is only hitting .224 on the season, but has a very impressive .822 OPS. He has flashed great power at the plate, hitting five home runs and driving in 13 runs across only 67 at-bats. Specifically, 12 of his 15 hits this season have been the extra-base variety. He has great power.
In his last game with Brooklyn, earlier on Sunday, 1-for-3 with his fifth home run and a walk. He hits the ball hard, throw the ball hard, and has overall been a very pleasant surprise as a third-round pick.
McLean joins a Binghamton (Double-A) team that features other top prospects in the system such as hitters Kevin Parada, Alex Ramírez, Ryan Clifford, and pitchers Brandon Sproat, Joander Suarez, and Tyler Stuart.
