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3 NY Mets players trending toward a role change

We're already seeing signs of these three taking on a different role.
ByTim Boyle|
New York Mets v Washington Nationals
New York Mets v Washington Nationals | G Fiume/GettyImages
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2) Tylor Megill seems like a good candidate to be a multi-inning threat from the bullpen

Tylor Megill has been given ample opportunity to show the goods as a starting pitcher for the Mets. At times brilliant and at other moments not so much, the idea of pushing Megill into the bullpen feels inevitable. He has only been with the major league squad this season due to injury. If sent down at all this year, his final minor league option will be used up and his usefulness as starting pitching depth dries up.

Although his 3.52 ERA this year is pretty good, Megill has struggled to give the Mets much length. In 11 starts he has 53.2 innings. It’s just under 5 innings per appearance. A personal-word 4.5 walks per 9 is a large reason why. As welcomed as the 12.1 strikeouts per 9 accompanying it are, the added pitch total often has Megill tiring himself out quicker than we’d like. His most recent start included a whopping 100 pitches in only 5.2 innings.

Some conclusions can be drawn from the results Megill has amassed so far in his MLB career as a starter. An even 25-25 with a 4.40 ERA isn’t exactly keeping him as a legitimate big league starter under any circumstance even if he shows signs of improvement. Just 8 innings of relief work doesn’t tell us much about how he’d look in this role more permanently. All but one of those games came in 2022 when Megill tossed a career-low 47.1 big league innings since his 2021 debut.

Megill has some nasty stuff and yet no truly dominant pitch. His three most frequently used pitches all have a batting average against between .235-.250, the highest of which is his slider that somehow still has a whiff percentage of 42.1%. When it works, it’s useful but batters have consistently been able to knock base hits against it. And if you know Megill enough, you’ll realize many of those hits come after or before a walk.

The sensible approach with Megill this year is to keep him as starting pitching depth. By next year, especially if there is no remaining minor league option, it’s going to need to change.