Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
As the big league club continues to have arm after arm go down with injury, it has become inevitable that the Mets finally turn to the one starter in the minor league system that has been consistently impressing and making a case for the chance to help the big league club.
With Marcus Stroman having to exit Tuesday’s game with a hip injury, Tylor Megill, the big 25 year old right-handed pitcher who was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse at the beginning of the month, will get the call that every player never forgets and make his major league debut, taking the hill to start Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves. And for Mets fans, this is a debut that has the potential to be memorable as well.
After Megill’s fastball, peaking in the upper 90’s last fall, began to pique the interest of Mets evaluators, Megill has only continued to build on his recently promising mix of power stuff and strike-throwing this spring. Tommy Tanous, the Mets vice president of amateur and international scouting, beamed about Megill earlier this spring in an interview for Metsmerized: “He has really blossomed. Velocity has gone up, breaking ball has become sharper and tighter and uses it very effectively…”
Opening his season at Double-A, Megill missed plenty of bats in May, utilizing his four-seamer with big extension and ride and that tight slider to the tune of 14.5 K/9.
The Mets eighth round selection in the 2018 Amateur Draft out of the University of Arizona, Megill has held his own quite well with his promotion to the minor league’s top step, maintaining a 10.7 K/9 in 14 innings in June, surrendering only six earned runs on 11 hits. As you can see below, the well-built 6’7″ right-hander was still living off of his plus fastball against the higher competition.
https://twitter.com/MetsFarmReport/status/1406301543532478480?s=20
By continually impressing all spring with consistent strike-throwing and efficient use of his slider and occasional running changeup, and having the advantage of being stretched out to a starter’s workload, the stars have finally aligned for Megill to get that first unforgettable taste of being a big leaguer.
The major league caliber stuff is there. The consistency and track record is there. Tylor’s time is now to meet this moment, and it cannot come at a more crucial time for the badly hobbled first-place Mets.
