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Nolan McLean opened plenty of eyes around the baseball world last Saturday.  The Mets 3rd round draft pick (out of Oklahoma State) made his MLB debut with 5-1/3 innings of shutout ball against the Mariners.  He struck out eight, and held Seattle's big mashers to just two hits in a 3-1 Mets victory.  I've been on hand for several McLean minor league starts the last couple of years -- above, he's getting ready last month for AAA Syracuse, and below, from a 2024 outing for AA Binghamton.

In a season full of injuries and underachievement from their pitchers, the Mets can feel a lot better about the rest of the season if McLean can step up a few more times.

From a pair of images of a rising pitcher, let's switch gears to a pair of hitters who produced two home run games this past week.  Above, Jose Ramirez, who set a Cleveland franchise record for the most multi-home run games (with 27) in last Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Marlins.  Just another huge game for baseball’s least recognized superstar.  

Below: the Phillies were worried about Bryce Harper's barking elbow for the first half of the season.  His swings were off, his power was missing.  But a stint on the IL and a couple weeks to get his timing back have given the other 29 clubs a reason to worry.  Monday night, he crushed a pair of Seattle pitches for nearly 900 feet of home runs in a 12-7 Phils victory.


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