Six years ago, Shane McClanahan was just a high school baseball player like many others, with dreams of getting drafted and starting a climb to the big leagues. The New York Mets were the first team to offer McClanahan a chance to realize that goal.

Despite being projected by some to go as high as the 10th round, McClanahan lasted on the board until the Mets took him in the 26th round (779th overall) of the 2015 MLB Draft. And he’ll never forget that.

“I was very thankful, blessed to be taken by the Mets,” said McClanahan, who will start against the Mets for the first time on Saturday. “I was most importantly just thankful that they believed in me when no one else did, back in 2015.”

McClanahan opted not to sign with the Mets, later telling a Fort Myers, Fla., television station: “I didn’t think I was ready out of high school; I was young; I was really immature. I knew I had a lot more in the tank.”

He started at the University of South Florida that fall, only to sustain an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and forced him to miss his freshman season.

The two seasons that followed, though, helped McClanahan prove himself right about having plenty more in the tank. As a redshirt sophomore in 2018, he finished second in NCAA Division I with a 14.15 strikeouts-per-nine rate. While McClanahan racked up strikeouts, his name soared up Draft boards.

When the Rays were on the clock with the 31st overall selection in the 2018 Draft, they snapped up the in-state power pitcher (coincidentally, the Rays used a compensatory selection on McClanahan, which they received after Alex Cobb left in free agency the previous offseason; on May 4, McClanahan and Cobb pitched against each other, with Cobb starting for the Angels).

It’s clear that things worked out for McClanahan, the Rays’ No. 4 prospect. In a different world, perhaps, things could’ve worked out with the Mets, too.

“Ultimately I made the decision to go to college,” he said, “but I will always have that kind of thanks toward the Mets for taking a chance on me.”

Castillo back from IL, but his absence helped others
For the first time since April 6, both Diego Castillo and Pete Fairbanks are healthy and available coming out of the Rays’ bullpen. Castillo, who’s fifth in the American League in saves (seven), was reinstated from his stint on the 10-day injured list caused by right groin tightness. Right-hander Louis Head was optioned to Triple-A Durham.

It’s obvious that the presence of Castillo and Fairbanks, the latter of whom has a 1.93 ERA through five outings, makes the Rays better. But in their time away -- Fairbanks missed a month with a rotator cuff injury -- Tampa Bay was tested, and in a good way.

“We’ve had the luxury here lately to find out some things about pitchers that came in with uncertainty just because we weren’t familiar with them,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “You look at what Jeff Springs has done, he’s been outstanding for us. I don’t know if all those opportunities are aligned for him if Pete wasn’t down.

“On the flipside, with Diego, there’s been guys -- whether it’s Hunter Strickland, and I think we had a pretty good understanding of Ryan Thompson -- there’s been a lot of guys that’ve stepped up and pitched big, big innings for us.”

The bullpen has a 2.51 ERA in the past 20 games, reducing its season ERA from 5.40 to 3.73 in that span. The results figure to only improve with Castillo and Fairbanks finally back in the mix together.

“I’m very happy that we’re both back,” Castillo said of reuniting with Fairbanks. “He’s an excellent pitcher, just like everybody else in the bullpen, and I’m very honored to be able to pitch alongside all these guys.”