It didn’t take long for New York Mets catcher Hayden Senger to realize Nolan McLean had a FastPass to the big leagues. The two were teammates in Syracuse when McLean made his Triple-A debut in May and Senger caught him for the first time. McLean’s sweeper swept better than any Senger had ever seen.

“It’s pretty insane,” Senger said recently, with a laugh. Three months later, with Senger again behind the plate, McLean held the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless over eight innings in his third career major-league start. McLean featured six different offerings but threw his sweeper the most — 28 of them, inducing three whiffs and 10 called strikes. He sliced through a potent postseason-bound lineup with just 95 pitches. Citi Field was electrified.

The sold-out ballpark was buzzing again two days later when Jonah Tong, arguably the best pitcher in the minors this season, joined McLean in the Mets’ rotation to limit the Miami Marlins to one earned run over five innings. And on Sunday, Brandon Sproat joined the festivities, taking scuffling veteran Kodai Senga‘s turn in the rotation in Cincinnati and becoming the Mets’ third heralded pitching prospect in less than a month to make his MLB debut. Sproat held the Reds hitless through 5⅓ innings, but gave up three runs over six innings and ultimately took the loss in a 3-2 defeat.

In David Stearns’ perfect world, the trio would have arrived with soft landings sometime next season. But the president of baseball operations decided the Mets, a playoff contender desperate for quality starting pitching with too many veterans either injured or struggling, needed them now.

“I think, as you go into the last month of the season,” Stearns said, “you want to have the best roster you possibly can.”

The three right-handers traveled distinct paths to opportunities in the middle of a postseason race. McLean, a former quarterback, was a two-sport and two-way player at Oklahoma State. Tong was a slight Canadian high schooler with a funky delivery. Sproat flashed high-ceiling tools in the SEC for the Florida Gators. Together, they highlight a booming farm system evaluators say is teeming with talent under Stearns’ watch.

Entering the season, Sproat, 24, was considered the best of the three. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked Sproat, a second-round pick in 2023, as the No. 62 prospect in baseball, while McLean was No. 123 and Tong was No. 147. But Sproat struggled early this season, pitching to a 6.69 ERA in nine starts for Syracuse through May 20. He rebounded with a 3.19 ERA over his next 17 outings behind increased velocity and movement on his 97-mph four-seam fastball.

“Sproat has the best arm talent and the highest upside [of the three],” a rival scout said. “The ceiling with him is very high.”

But Sproat’s pitchability, according to talent evaluators, isn’t on McLean and Tong’s level, which helped McLean and Tong hurdle him to the big leagues.

“McLean and Tong are both extremely good pitchers, but neither has dealt with failure at the pro level,” a talent evaluator said. “And I’m going to be really curious how they handle that and how they can adapt both in their pitching approach and mentality. Sproat struggled a bit earlier this year, so he likely built up some kind of resilience and adaptability.”

The 24-year-old McLean’s development accelerated once he ditched hitting during summer 2024, his first full pro season. Focusing solely on pitching, the 2023 third-round pick optimized his unique ability to spin the baseball and climbed from Double-A Binghamton to Queens in 2025 while surging to No. 19 in McDaniel’s latest top 100 prospects ranking. Through four starts, McLean’s curveball has the highest average spin rate in the majors, and his frisbee sweeper ranks near the top. More importantly, he has issued just seven walks over 26⅓ innings after averaging four walks per nine innings in the minors.

“Despite the lack of pitching experience and being a two-way guy, McLean was always the safest [bet],” the rival scout said.

Tong, 22, was so far down the Mets’ 2025 organizational depth chart that he wasn’t invited to major league camp in spring training. A seventh-round selection in 2022 with a smaller frame and a drastic over-the-top delivery that resembles two-time National League Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, Tong produces the highest arm angle of any pitcher in the majors this season.

With those unusual mechanics, he weaponized a 12-6 curveball, a changeup he added this season and an explosive fastball that features elite induced vertical break to dominate minor league hitters this season. He posted a 1.43 ERA across 22 Double-A and Triple-A starts, climbing to No. 21 in McDaniel’s latest prospect rankings and rocketing his way to the majors.

“He’s a real development win for the Mets,” a rival executive said.

Development wins don’t count in the standings, though, and World Series trophies aren’t handed out for farm system rankings. The Mets would have preferred not relying on three rookies in September. But a starting rotation without a proven ace — Stearns opted not to acquire a premier pitcher over the offseason or before the trade deadline — has been plagued by injuries and underperformance throughout the summer.

Senga, one of the Mets’ projected top two starters this season, missed a month with a strained hamstring and stumbled so badly upon his return that he accepted a demotion to Triple-A on Friday to rectify his troubles. Sean Manaea, the Mets’ other projected frontline starter, has a 5.60 ERA in 10 outings after missing more than three months with a strained oblique. Tylor Megill landed on the injured list with a sprained right elbow in mid-June. Griffin Canning ruptured his left Achilles less than two weeks later. Frankie Montas — given a two-year, $34 million contract during the offseason — recorded a 6.68 ERA in seven starts before going to the bullpen and tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

By mid-August, the Mets were dipping into their prospect bank for help. Come October, a club with championship aspirations and the second-most expensive roster in the sport could end up counting on the three youngsters to help them win games that matter — much sooner than they expected.

“I’m going to keep saying it,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re going with what we feel are our best guys, day in and day out.”

Shabana Mahmood has become the first ever Muslim woman in British history to serve as home secretary.

After just over a year as justice secretary, which saw her decide to release some prisoners early to free up jail spaces, she will now be in charge of policing, immigration, and the security services.

The 44-year-old replaced Yvette Cooper, 10 years after she helped run Cooper’s failed Labour leadership campaign, and faces flag-waving anti-immigration protesters and the growing threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Raised in Birmingham and Saudi Arabia

Shabana Mahmood was born in Birmingham to parents from the Pakistani-administered region of Azad Kashmir.

Soon after they were born, they moved her and her twin brother to the Saudi Arabian city of Taif, where her father worked as a civil engineer and the family would make regular visits to religious sites in Mecca and Medina.

After seven years, they moved back to Birmingham and her father, still employed as a full-time engineer, bought a corner shop and became chairman of the local Labour Party.

She attended an all-girls grammar school and then Oxford University to study law at Lincoln College, where she was elected Junior Common Room president, with a vote from former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was in the year above her.

After university, she moved to London to train as a lawyer, specialising in professional indemnity for most of her 20s.

‘My faith is the centre point of my life’

At the age of 29 in 2010, she was elected MP for her home constituency of Birmingham Ladywood, a safe Labour seat, with a majority of just over 9%, which grew to 82.7% at its peak in the snap election of 2017.

Along with Rushanara Ali and Yasmin Qureshi, this made her one of Britain’s first female Muslim MPs.

In an interview with The Times, she said: “My faith is the centre point of my life and it drives me to public service, it drives me in the way that I live my life and I see my life.”

She held several shadow cabinet positions under Ed Miliband’s leadership, including shadow prisons and higher education minister, and shadow financial secretary to the treasury.

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Often described as ‘blue Labour’, Mahmood returned to the backbenches when Jeremy Corbyn took over as party leader in 2015, telling him as she refused a shadow cabinet position: “I’ll be miserable and I’ll make you miserable as well.”

She had chaired her now-predecessor Yvette Cooper’s failed campaign to beat him to the leadership.

During the Corbyn years, she was elected to the Parliamentary Labour Party’s National Executive Committee and as vice chairman of the party’s National Policy Forum.

When Mr Corbyn was replaced by Sir Keir Starmer, Ms Mahmood became national campaign coordinator and was tasked with preparing Labour for the next general election.

During her two-and-a-half years in that job, she is credited with helping Labour win the Batley and Spen by-election and helping Sir Keir recover from Labour’s defeat in Hartlepool – where the Conservatives won for the first time ever in 2021.

Early prison release scheme and views on Gaza

Soon after becoming justice secretary and lord chancellor, Mahmood commissioned a report into the crumbling prison estate.

Carried out by one of her Conservative predecessors, David Gauke, it revealed they were practically full, and triggered a controversial decision to release more than 1,000 inmates early to ease pressure on the system.

The Ministry of Justice were forced to apologise after it emerged 37 prisoners had been released by mistake.

She has also endorsed tougher immigration laws, announcing in August that foreign criminals will be deported after sentencing, and has been critical of their use of human rights lawyers, calling for reform of the European Convention on Human Rights as a result.

Answering questions on Asian grooming gangs, she previously told former Tory minister Michael Gove in The Spectator that there is “still a moment of reckoning” and an “outstanding question of why so many looked the other way”.

She has also been vocal on Labour’s stance on Gaza, warning the prime minister that “British Muslims are feeling a very strong sense of pain” and that the government would have to rebuild their trust.

When she was last re-elected in 2024, she suffered a 42% drop in her majority, facing off an independent candidate whose campaign centred around Palestinian rights.

Like her parliamentary neighbour, Labour MP Jess Phillips, she said the election campaign had been “sullied by harassment and intimidation”.

Mercedes-Benz has now fully pulled the wraps off the all-electric GLC at IAA Mobility in Munich. A new next-gen electric powertrain now underpins the most popular model from the German luxury automotive brand.

Can it revive Mercedes’ EV momentum?

Mercedes-Benz all-electric GLC at a glance

• Battery & voltage: 94-kWh pack on an 800-volt system; DC fast-charging from 10–80% in ~24–25 minutes and up to ~160 miles added in a 10-minute stop (WLTP basis).
• Powertrains (launch pair):
  • GLC 400 4MATIC: dual-motor AWD, 483 hp / 596 lb-ft, 0–60 mph in 4.4 s.
  • GLC 300+: single rear motor RWD, 369 hp / 372 lb-ft, 0–60 mph in 5.9 s.
• Drivetrain detail: a two-speed transmission on the rear axle (11:1 first, 5:1 second) to boost launch, towing, and high-speed efficiency—rare in road EVs today.
• Range: WLTP estimates vary by source; expect ~350–376 miles depending on configuration, with U.S. EPA ratings to come closer to launch.
• Charging network: When it reaches North America, the GLC should align with Mercedes’ plan to ship native NACS ports starting in 2025; current MB EVs already have Supercharger access via an official adapter.
• Towing & utility: Up to 5,291 lbs (with hitch); 20.1 cu-ft cargo (rear seats up) or 61.4 cu-ft (seats folded) plus a 4.5 cu-ft frunk.
• Interior tech: optional 39.1-inch “Hyperscreen” spanning A-pillar to A-pillar with matrix backlighting (1,000+ LEDs) and zone dimming; standard setup still includes large display real estate.

Mercedes-Benz Electric GLC

Unlike the old EQC (a reworked ICE platform), the electric GLC is an EV built from the ground up.

It now features a longer wheelbase, new sheetmetal, and a bespoke interior. The 800-V system supports 330-kW peak DC fast-charging, and the new drive units pair with that two-speed rear e-axle, something most EV automakers don’t opt for, to balance punchy acceleration with efficient cruising.

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Optional AIRMATIC air suspension and available rear-axle steering complement the advanced technology offering, providing higher levels of comfort and maneuverability for those willing to pay a premium.

The new electric GLC is equipped with a 94 kWh battery pack, providing up to 713 km (443 miles) of range based on the WLTP cycle.

The EPA range is expected to be closer to 350 miles of range.

Inside, Mercedes, who has long been trying to “out-screen” the segment, is still implementing its 39.1″ Hyperscreen, which uses matrix backlighting with intelligent zone dimming, letting the system brighten critical info while dimming other areas to reduce distraction.

As of late, the German automaker has been making progress with its in-car user interface through deeper Google integration on the latest MBUX/MB.OS stack.

Design-wise, the electric GLC stays recognizable, which is the point — but adds that optional pixel-lit grille and star-signature lighting front and rear as an evolution on existing designs.

Electrek’s take

It does feel like a step-up in Mercedes’ EV game.

Between this and BMW’s new IX3, it’s clear that the German automakers are not ready to let China run away with the electric premium segment.

Tesla is leaving a gap for others to fill, especially in Europe, and legacy automakers need to up their EV game to gain market share, or Chinese automakers will be more than happy to take their place.

The specs of the electric GLC appear to be on point. The price point has yet to be confirmed, but I expect they will try to compete with the new BMW iX3.

They didn’t manage to achieve the same range, but as we often like to highlight, range is not everything and it looks like the GLC will easily be able to travel more than 300 miles on a single charge, which is plenty.

My main eyebrow-raiser is the timeline: late 2026/early 2027 is a long on-ramp for a “now” segment, and competitors won’t stand still.