Nolan McLean, RHP, Mets: The Mets drafted Oklahoma State two-way player Nolan McLean in the third round in 2023. Roughly a year after being drafted, the 22-year-old is ditching hitting and committing to pitching only. McLean worked as a reliever in college but has started exclusively for the Mets this season at High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. In addition to making 16 starts as a righthander, he made an additional 35 starts at DH. The extra rest between starts will help McLean recover as he adapts to starting, while also allowing more time for pitch development during side sessions. McLean has recorded a 4.19 ERA with 78 strikeouts, 23 walks and eight home runs through 66.2 innings. As a hitter, he pairs big power (.254 isolated slugging) with major swing-and-miss issues (52% strikeout rate).

Thomas Saggese, 2B, Cardinals: A year ago at this time, Thomas Saggese was weeks away from being dealt from Texas to St. Louis in the deal that made lefthander Jordan Montgomery. On Sunday, he put together his first multi-homer game of the season. Facing Norfolk, Saggese slammed longballs in the first and sixth innings as part of his team’s win. The homers put him into double-digits for the year.

Austin Shenton, 1B, Rays: The Rays have done well in trades in recent years, and Austin Shenton might be their latest shrewd pickup. The first baseman came from Seattle in the deal that sent Diego Castillo to the Mariners. On Sunday, the 26-year-old FIU smacked a pair of home runs in his team’s loss to Charlotte. The outburst was Shenton’s third multi-homer game of the season and brought his total to nine for the season.

Omar Alfonzo, C, Pirates: Pirates catcher Omar Alfonzo has been one of the more up-arrow prospects in Pittsburgh’s system. The 20-year-old backstop has shown a strong sense of the strike zone combined with hints of power that should grow once he exits the Florida State League. On Sunday, Alfonzo swatted his seventh home run of the season, one shy of his career total entering the year. The home run was also his second of the weekend.

Boston Baro, SS, Mets: Last July, Boston Baro had just heard his name called in the eighth round of the 2023 draft. Now, he’s standing out on the Mets’ Low-A affiliate in the Florida State League. On Sunday, he racked up three singles, drove in three runs and added a walk in his team’s rout of Lakeland. The game continued a strong July in which Baro, 19, has hit .302/.380/.349 with nearly as many walks (6) as strikeouts (8). In BA’s most recent update to its Top 30 Prospects lists, Baro ascended to the No. 18 spot.

Drake Baldwin, Axiel Plaz Headline 10 Statcast Standouts

Statcast Standouts returns, and it’s unlocked for all to read this week. Eli Ben-Porat covers a ton of ground, including…

• A Futures game standout

• A victory lap on a breakout Pirates catcher

• A Red Sox prospect re-ascending

• A White Sox pitcher that added 2 mph to his fastball

• A Dodgers pitcher that will debut after the All-Star Break

• A Cubs pitcher on the IL

• An Athletics OF with whiff questions

• The next Steven Kwan?

• The real next Steven Kwan

• The next pitcher callup for the Orioles

You can check it out below!

Want to get ahead? Each day we’ll surface one prospect from recent Baseball America coverage who could be on the rise.

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Kohl Drake, LHP, Rangers: In his first three starts since arriving at High-A Hickory, Drakehas struck out 32% of hitters he has faced while only walking 3%. We talked about the 6-foot-5 lefty a few weeks ago, just before he got the call, and he has done nothing to quell the excitement that RoboScout has for the 11th-round draft pick from 2023. One thing to notice is that he has a very low 28% groundball rate at the new level which is interesting considering he had a 46% rate at Low-A Down East. If it sticks, this could lead to some home run trouble but for now, the year’s body of work has his peak projection sitting in the same tier as Jaden Hamm (Tigers), Jonah Tong (Mets), and George Klassen (Phillies) tier, even despite the “stuff” being a notch below these higher-regarded prospects. If you are a glass half-full dynasty manager, he is a Top 200 prospect based on the RoboScout projections.