There’s been plenty to grumble about in Queens this season, but the Mets’ young core has at least given fans something worth tracking. The names may not all have the same buzz, and the surface stats don’t always leap off the page, but Baseball Savant shows some real reasons to keep an eye on several rookies and first-year contributors.
The most encouraging part? The Mets don’t just have one interesting young arm or one promising bat. They’ve got a handful of them, and the underlying numbers suggest some of these players could matter a lot more down the road than they do right now.
Nolan McLean was billed as the pitching savior headed into last winter, with true ace upside as early as this season. That kind of hype was always a heavy load for a 25-year-old to carry, and a 2026 season that rates 19% better than league average by ERA+ is not the stuff of Cy Young campaigns. Still, McLean’s first big league season has been solid: a 3.42 ERA across 24 starts.
The deeper numbers are what really stand out. McLean’s 28.0% strikeout rate sits in the 85th percentile among pitchers, and his 46.0% ground ball rate checks in at the 70th percentile.
Among the ten other qualified starters with a strikeout rate that high, only Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, and Jacob Misiorowski have a better ground ball rate. That’s strong company, and it’s a good sign that McLean’s profile looks built to last.
Christian Scott may have been even more impressive in that department. His 28.8% strikeout rate ranks in the 88th percentile, and a big reason for that is his elite extension.
Savant places that trait in the 89th percentile among all pitchers this year. At 6'4'', Scott’s height helps explain the number, but the payoff matters more: his 95.3 mph fastball plays up because he releases it closer to the plate.
That combination has helped fuel a lot of strikeouts, and if he keeps it going, he looks like a lock for next year’s rotation.
The outfield has its own pair of building blocks. Carson Benge came into 2026 with the kind of expectations that can get a fan base dreaming big, and while he hasn’t been an All-Star type of force, he has still put together a very good season. The 23-year-old is hitting .274 with 13 homers, 18 steals, and a .749 OPS.
Even that line may undersell what he’s done. Benge’s expected batting average sits at .284, which is ten points higher than his actual mark.
That expected average ranks in the 93rd percentile, and only 17 hitters in baseball have a higher xBA. For a player already producing the way he is, that’s a very encouraging sign for what comes next.
A.J. Ewing has been one of the more surprising developments of the year.
He arrived as a lesser-known prospect and quickly forced his way into the starting center field job. His 102 OPS+ is useful enough on its own, especially considering he didn’t enter the season with a clear path to playing time.
But his defense is what really separates him. Savant has his Outs Above Average in the 90th percentile, and only 16 major league outfielders have more OAA this season.
Ewing has added speed to that glove, too. He’s stolen 15 bases, and his 95th percentile sprint speed helps explain why.
At 29.5 feet per second, he ties NL MVP candidate and former Mets prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, with only a few players running faster. Between the defense, the speed, and a serviceable bat, Ewing looks like someone the Mets can build around for a long time.
Not every young arm has looked as convincing. Zac Thornton has turned in the best results on the surface, posting a 2.78 ERA in 45 1/3 innings over eight big league starts. For a 24-year-old rookie, that’s a strong showing and enough to keep him in the conversation as a potential piece moving forward.
But the Savant data is far less flattering. Thornton’s best trait is a 7.3% walk rate, which lands in the 66th percentile among pitchers.
Everything else trends the wrong way. He allows too many barrels, doesn’t miss enough bats, doesn’t get enough ground balls, and his velocity is on the low side for a modern starter.
That kind of profile can survive for a while, but it doesn’t project especially well. If Thornton is going to keep finding success in the majors, he’ll need to sharpen the underlying skills or outperform the numbers in a major way.
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