Tylor Megill is Taking Tremendous Strides
The 26-year-old rookie right-hander is soaring thus far
Image credit: Chris Simon
Hey now, the Metsies pulled off a win on Wednesday. And what a Wednesday it was…
Michael Conforto chipped in a couple of big knocks and Kevin Pillar’s three-run homer in the 12th knocked off the Giants, 6-2, ending the Mets’ losing streak at five games before departing San Francisco for sunny Los Angeles.
Much needed, no doubt.
New York remains four-and-a-half games back of Atlanta (9-1 over their last 10) heading into their weekend set with the Dodgers, but clipping the skid was the first step in, hopefully, a few more strides forward before heading home Sunday night.
Though, without the contributions of right-hander Tylor Megill on Wednesday, there’s no telling if the Mets would be arriving in Hollywood with whatever momentum they are.
Six innings of five-hit, one-run ball (six strikeouts, two walks) from the 26-year-old kept the Mets and their comatose offense in the game. What more could you ask for?
Since making his MLB debut on June 23 (11 starts; 56 IP), Megill’s pitched to a 3.21 ERA (21st in MLB among qualified starters over that span) with 60 strikeouts, 15 walks, and 1.16 WHIP (23rd in MLB, same parameters).
Some more of Megill’s MLB rankings since June 23:
3.21 ERA, 21st
3.57 FIP, 24th
2.41 walks per nine, 22nd
4.0 strikeouts to walks, tied for 18th with Marcus Stroman
33.1% hard-hit rate, 32nd
80.4% left-on-base rate, 14th (!!!)
That’s all going to play. And the importance of Megill’s efforts increases tenfold when considering the responsibilities bestowed upon him.
Jacob deGrom’s absence, Taijuan Walker’s brief downturn, waiting out the arrival of Carlos Carrasco. Megill’s bridged those gaps more than efficiently and it’s been a gift to these Metropolitans.
What’s even more impressive is the fact he’s done it by unabashedly challenging hitters. A place for everything and everything in its place.
Megill’s 72.9% Z-Swing rate (swings on pitches inside the strike zone) is eighth-most in the majors among starting pitchers and his 26.8% called strike-and-whiff rate (CSW%) ranks 31st among the same group.
For a pitcher just 11 starts into his major league career, that’s actually pretty awesome. Come and get it.
Megill absolutely loads up the strike zone with his four-seamer, mixes in his changeup and slider as called for (there’s a seldom-used curveball in there, too), and it all works extremely well.
Right-handers have struggled mightily with Megill’s secondary stuff (.111 batting average versus the changeup; .176 on the slider).
Lefties have done damage on misplaced changeups (.676 slugging percentage), but the slider in on their shins has done the trick (.333 SLG) sufficiently.
It doesn’t even matter who’s been facing Megill’s changeup, it’s doing its job and then some.
Per Statcast, hitters are attacking the change when it arrives but that late cut is also doing what it’s supposed to do — inducing outs.
When consumed together, Megill’s repertoire is effective. With a weapon like that changeup at his disposal, its potential is magnified.
As we saw Wednesday and touched on below, it also opens up the door for his other secondary pitches to flourish.
Statcast’s spin-based movement on his arsenal has all three of his main pitches on similar axes (imagine between 11:00 and 3:00 on a clock face).
What hitters see (below) is a bit altered, but not by much. Keeping it simple works for some guys.
The combination of Megill’s four-seam and changeup really has the potential to do damage, as we’ve seen. Similar paths for the first 45 feet or so, similarly observed spin. Dastardly.
And taking into account that his fastball lands all over the zone, it should theoretically make the changeup that much more deceptive. You know how much we love that.
On Wednesday, Megill flipped his tendencies on their head a bit, leaning on his slider much more aggressively, and the results were encouraging (20% usage; 33% CSW).
Following his outing (his seventh allowing two or fewer runs; also ridiculously impressive for a rookie over his first 11 starts), Megill appeared pleased with the progress he’s making.
“I felt like all my pitches were working [Wednesday], mixed all of it in,” he said, noting his fastball usage was up, too. “I felt like my slider was really there today and that had a lot of success.”
With regards to his unexpectedly high workload this season (71.2 IP in 2019; career-high 96.1 IP in 2021), Megill gave an all-clear on that front, as well.
“Arm’s feeling really good. Just gotta stay to my prep work in between starts and keep myself healthy,” he said. “I feel good regardless of [pitch count]. I’m maintaining my velo throughout the game, so that’s a positive sign.”
A whole bunch of those coming from Tylor Megill this season. Onward, family.
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