Mets' Nolan McLean gets bold Freddy Peralta comparison 21 games into season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New York Mets are in the middle of a brutal 10-game losing streak this season, but there is still hope for the team if they can start turning things around, and soon.

However, it's not the pitching staff that needs to improve, as the lineup is the main culprit. And if there were one player not responsible for the struggles this season, it would be Nolan McLean.

MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, following just the first 21 games of the season, claimed that McLean is already the team's ace over Freddy Peralta despite the Mets swinging the blockbuster trade this offseason for Peralta.

"Mets: Nolan McLean is already the staff ace," DiComo writes. "The Mets entered this season with trade acquisition Freddy Peralta nominally atop their rotation depth chart. But while Peralta has held his own, McLean's superior arsenal and ability to go deeper into games have already made him a more trusted arm."

Peralta is a veteran starter who was coming off a 2.70 ERA season across 33 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025. He was expected to be the staff ace this year.

But, through five starts, Peralta has a 4.05 ERA, and is 1-2 with some struggles at times this season, holding him back.

McLean, on the other hand, has been dominant so far. He's posted a 2.28 ERA in four starts with a 1-1 record, and has made it through 23.2 innings so far this season.

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Peralta, for comparison, with one extra start, has gone just 26.2 innings. McLean would have to go less than 3.1 innings in his next start to have the same start to the year innings-wise as Peralta.

Not only is McLean pitching better overall, but he's also pitching deeper into games than Peralta. The Mets are struggling a lot this season, but McLean isn't an issue.

In fact, McLean is the biggest positive of the season so far. Despite how rough the year has been, the production from McLean so far has proven that he's a star pitcher who could be a perennial All-Star and Cy Young candidate for many years to come.

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