Mets VP of player development thrilled with rookies: ‘You celebrate the kids’

From a development standpoint, 2025 can’t be viewed as anything but a success for the Mets.

Exhibits A, B and C are scheduled for action the next three days, with Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean aligned to start games in the heat of a pennant race.

Watching the trio blossom this summer was rewarding for vice president of player development Andy Green, but his true satisfaction is in witnessing all three help the major league club.

“You celebrate the kids,” Green said Wednesday at Citi Field before the Mets’ 7-4 loss to the Padres. “You celebrate the work that they have done because they have grinded to get to that spot. I think when it happens quick — and relatively speaking it has happened quick for all of those guys — people don’t realize how much work is put in.

“We take a lot of pride in the fact that they are just not here, but they have taken care of everything you can ask them to take care of. They have risen to meet every challenge. Those are the ones you feel good about getting here because they are great examples for the rest of your organization.”

McLean, who has a 1.19 ERA over his first six starts and has emerged as a potential staff ace, was a two-way player upon arriving in the 2023 draft from Oklahoma State.

Beginning last season, McLean harnessed all of his energy into pitching — putting away his infielder’s glove and bat — and the results followed.

“That quickened how quickly he arrived — he got here faster,” Green said. “I don’t think you doubt him. Is it possible he could have found his way here as a hitter? I don’t think you doubt people who are wired like that. But the effort and energy he put into that was slowing his pitching development to an extent, and it takes a lot to be elite on the mound at this level.”

Tong, who is scheduled to start Thursday against the Padres, had a rough outing against the Rangers on Friday in which he allowed six earned runs and failed to escape the first inning.

But Green has seen resiliency from the 22-year-old previously and expects to see it again.

Green noted an outing Tong had last season in Single-A in which he failed to escape the first inning.

“Then he bounced back and had an amazing year last year that catapulted him to this stage this year,” Green said. “I think that is what you are looking for in young guys. Show me the tough moments, because it’s guaranteed they are going to show up at some point in time. You have got a young kid who has shown those moments of resilience and he can rely on that in moments like this and know he can get back on the mound and fill up the strike zone.”