Fantasy baseball waiver wire: Nolan McLean shines yet again, proving to be a must-add player

The Mets have squeezed an awful lot out of their rotation over the past couple of seasons, turning a collection of cast-offs and fringe talents into a playoff-caliber rotation two years in a row. And now they're doing it with actual young, talented arms, and they're starting to look like a team you really don't want to face in the playoffs. 

We went over the latest exciting prospect call-up to join the Mets rotation in yesterday's newsletter, and then Nolan McLean took the mount Wednesday to remind us that, while Jonah Tong is the new, hot item to hit the shelves, McLean got here first. And he isn't showing any signs of slowing down. In fact, after throwing seven innings last start, he went out and one-upped himself Wednesday, tossing eight brilliant innings to beat the Phillies.

McLean didn't allow a run over those eight innings, his second start without allowing a run in three tries since getting called up. And, really, the Phillies didn't come all that close – they had a few well-hit fly balls that died short of the wall, and only saw runners reach scoring position in the eighth and final inning of McLean's night, and he got out of that jam without any damage. He struck out six and had more batted balls with an expected batting average below .100 (seven) than above .500 (six) out of 21 balls in play. And, perhaps most notably, he didn't walk a batter for the second start in a row.

If there was going to be a flaw in McLean's approach based on his minor-league track record, you would be concerned about his control. He had a walk rate over 10% at both Double-A and Triple-A this season, but was able to overcome that with strong strikeout rates and plenty of groundballs to limit homers. And both of those skills are intact so far, as McLean has struck out 28.8% of opposing hitters while generating a 68.1% groundball rate through three starts.

He's doing it on the strength of a sinker with a negative-22-degree average launch angle that he has used as his primary fastball, plus a four-seamer he has saved for putaway situations, a sweeper that generated much better results Wednesday, plus a curveball that looks like it might be an absolutely devastating putaway pitch. He had a 48% whiff rate with that pitch at Triple-A, and it's over 40% so far here. It's an arsenal and approach that looks a lot like Giants ace Logan Webb, a comp I saw PitcherList.com's Jack Foley make – McLean doesn't have the plus changeup, but the curveball is his weapon of choice against lefties and can play a similar role, while the four-seamer gets saved for situations when he needs a whiff up in the zone. 

That doesn't mean McLean will be as good as Webb, but he has the deep arsenal, the groundball rate, and the weapons to handle hitters of both handedness. The Mets may have to have some conversations about limiting his innings at some point – he's up to 134 for the season, 34.1 more than last season, with a hoped-for deep playoff run to consider. But a six-man rotation with Tong slotting in and sticking around would help in that regard, and I don't think he's at risk of being shut down or anything. Not when McLean looks like he might be the team's best pitcher heading into the playoffs. 

And he certainly looks like a must-roster pitcher, and someone I think you have to start next week, even with a somewhat tough matchup on the way against the Tigers. McLean has earned that much, at least. 

Here's what else you need to know about from Wednesday's action around MLB: 

Thursday's top waiver-wire targets

Abner Uribe, RP, Brewers (31%) – Uribe flamed out the last time he was tasked with being a closer, but he's likely to get another chance here with Trevor Megill placed on the IL Wednesday with a flexor strain in his elbow. And Uribe has been an elite pitcher this season, putting up a 1.71 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 11.1 K/9 in 63.1 innings. His peripherals mostly back up that he's been an excellent pitcher after a disastrous 2024 season, and he has considerable upside as the projected closer for a very good Brewers team. In any league where you are looking for saves, Uribe should be viewed as a must-add and must-start pitcher, even though Megill told reporters he is hoping for a minimum-length IL stint – with only around 30 days left in the season, that would still mean Uribe is the closer for half the remaining schedule.

Bubba Chandler, SP, Pirates (67%) – By waiting so long to call Chandler up, the Pirates put themselves in a tough spot. He was struggling mightily by the time he finally got promoted, so could they really justify putting him in the rotation right away? They decided they couldn't, but now that he's acquitted himself well in two bulk relief appearances (including a save and a win, amazingly!), I think we're going to see him slot into the rotation soon. He hasn't been overwhelmingly dominant with the strikeouts, but he also hasn't looked like he doesn't belong in the majors, so I'd bet they're going to give him a real chance sooner rather than later. And, with his Triple-A struggles seemingly behind him, I think it's okay to get excited about Chandler again. 

Luis Morales, SP, Athletics (12%) – Morales just continues to impress. Probably not as much as his 1.19 ERA through his first four MLB starts would indicate, though Wednesday against the Tigers, he came close. He pitched seven innings for the first time, striking out seven, walking two, and allowing just two hits without giving up a run. Morales struggled with his command in his first start, walking five in just 2.2 innings, but he has just four walks in three starts since, with two runs allowed and 18 strikeouts in as many innings. We haven't been seeing huge swing and miss stuff from his fastball-heavy approach for the most part, though that too started to change Wednesday, as he generated seven of his 11 whiffs on the four-seamer (with three more on the changeup and one on the sweeper). Morales remains a work in progress, but a pretty impressive one, and he might be in line for two starts next week, making him an intriguing target in deeper leagues. 

Zack Gelof, 2B, Athletics (17%) – When Gelof was recalled earlier this week, I decided not to put him in the waiver-wire section of the newsletter until he gave us a reason to be interested in him – it's been a long time since that was true. But he did Wednesday, going 2 for 4 with a double and a homer, plus an attempted steal – hey, "A" for effort from a guy who needs power and speed to have much value. He had gone hitless in his first two games back, so we're a long way from Gelof being relevant in mixed leagues. But he still had 17 homers and 25 steals in a down year in 2024 and was productive at Triple-A, so let's see if he can play his way back into our hearts.