ATLANTA — It didn’t take Mets catcher Hayden Senger long to realize Nolan McLean was bound for the big leagues. It took even less time for him to realize he would have to work to catch a guy who throws pitches that spin like McLean’s.
“When I first caught him, it was a struggle,” Senger told the Daily News on Saturday at Truist Park. “I was like, ‘Wow, that stuff’s moving.”
The right-hander’s spinning sweeper would sweep right past Senger’s mitt.
“His sweeper was out-sweeping where my glove was,” the backstop said. “I was running out of glove on it.”
A sweeper has become a trendy pitch in the big leagues over the last five years, but McLean’s is big and it’s unique. It averages about 15 inches of horizontal break and drops nearly 30 inches vertically. The spin doesn’t contribute to all of the movement, but it does make it tough for hitters to pick up the pitch and make solid contact on it.
McLean’s calling card is his spin rate. He throws a curveball with more active spin than most other pitchers throw it, and his four-seam fastball and sinker have decently high-spin rates as well. It’s one of the reasons Senger enjoys catching the rookie righty.
“His stuff is really good,” Senger said. “It’s kind of fun watching him go about it on the mound.”
Friday night marked the first time the two were batterymates at the big league level. It was a cool moment for McLean and Senger, and likely an even more important one for the Mets’ player development group. It would be even more of a momentous occasion if right-hander Brandon Sproat were to be in the big-league mix.
Right-handers Sproat and Jonah Tong, two of the Mets’ best pitching prospects and best overall organizational prospects, are in the mix for September call-ups. Tong was recently promoted from Double-A to Triple-A and has looked every bit as ready as projected. In 11 2/3 innings, he has yet to give up an earned run. He’s allowed eight hits, walked three and struck out 17.
Sproat has spent the entire season with Triple-A Syracuse, much of it with Senger. The backstop watched the Mets’ second-round pick from 2023 overcome a rocky start to dominating hitters in the International League. He reached the 100-strikeout mark in 24 starts, and has held hitters to a .215 average. This came after losing three of his first six decisions in Triple-A. Earlier this season, Sproat was walking too many hitters and wasn’t missing bats the way he’s been known to throughout his college and minor league career.
His 4.24 ERA this is season doesn’t really tell the whole story. In July, he allowed only two earned runs in five starts.
“I think that had a lot to do with this heater,” Senger said. “Once he regained his confidence in his heater, I think that really turned the page for him. He’s attacking the zone with a belief that can get hitters out now, and I think that’s made a huge difference.”
His four-seam fastball sits comfortably in the high 90s, sometimes hitting triple digits. It doesn’t have a lot of movement or ride on it, and early in the season, hitters feasted on the pitch. Sproat made only seven starts in Triple-A last season, his first full professional season after a standout college career at the University of Florida, so adjusting to a higher level of hitters was to be expected. Once Sproat settled into the season and started mixing his pitches, the transition went more smoothly.
Quiet and shy off the field, Sproat has a big presence on the mound. It’s only grown this season as his confidence has.
“He’s confident and he’s got a little strut to him now,” Senger said. “A completely different guy than what he is off the mound.”
Should the Mets choose to bring up Sproat next month, his catcher knows he’ll be ready.
“He’s got all the stuff in the world, and his confidence is there,” Senger said. “He’s a really good pitcher. He knows that, and I know that.”
The Mets know it too.
