Many people went into Sunday's semifinals matchup between Team USA and Dominican Republic with the expectation that the winner would essentially be guaranteed the World Baseball Classic championship. It is obviously risky to make such an assumption, especially since Venezuela is loaded with talent and Italy has already beaten the Americans once. Ergo, there will still be plenty of pressure on young Nolan McLean to set the tone in Tuesday's final, regardless of who he faces.
The New York Mets rookie pitcher will need to bounce back after scuffling versus The Azzurri in pool play. He will only have a certain number of chances to stifle his opponent in this title clash. McLean revealed that he will carry a pitch count of “about 65-70 pitches,” per USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale. Although the United States' bullpen was stellar in a 2-1 semis win over the D.R. the squad may not be able to survive a rough outing by its starter.
The 24-year-old right-hander should be walking onto the mound with something to prove after allowing three runs and two walks in his first WBC outing. He is certainly capable of overpowering game-changing hitters. Just look at what he did during the final stretch of the 2025 MLB regular season.
McLean recorded a dazzling 2.06 ERA with 57 strikeouts, a 1.042 WHIP and .277 on-base percentage against in eight starts for New York. Despite the inexperience, he quickly became the Mets' best hope at overcoming pitching woes and snagging a National League Wild Card slot. An improbable NY collapse denied the 2023 third-round draft pick the opportunity to compete in October, but he sent an ear-splitting message just the same.
Nolan McLean has arrived. A strong showing in the WBC championship would only reinforce that statement.
