3 hot Mets spring training performances we should buy as the real deal

2. Tylor Megill

Coming into spring training, it seemed as though the fanbase had made their evaluation of Tylor Megill over his three-year career. He was a nice surprise story in 2021 debuting in the major leagues straight from AA Binghamton. This performance earned Megill the Opening Day nod in 2022 until injuries limited him to just 9 starts. Last season, the 27-year-old pitched his first full season making 25 starts but battled with velocity decline late in games. This resulted in a midseason demotion to AAA and a season ERA of 4.70.

The decline in production in 2023 forced Megill to rethink his pitching repertoire during the offseason. First, he needed to correct his walk rate which was precise in 2021 at just 2.1 walks per nine innings pitched. However, this number climbed to 4.1 in 2023 due to habits he developed when rehabbing in 2022. So far in spring training, Megill has proven to correct this flaw only issuing 4 bases on balls through 16 innings pitched. He has better commanded his offspeed pitches which has resulted in fewer free passes for the opposing team.

Secondly, Megill needed to address the batter's comfortable adjustment to his scouting report. Now that Megill has been around the league, every team knows he is a hard thrower who attacks the strike zone. In readjusting himself, Megill developed the 'American Ghost Fork', which is essentially a split-changeup. This offering mirrors the split-change developed by Zack Wheeler under former pitching coach Dave Eiland's tutelage in 2018. Having a more unpredictable pitching arsenal coupled with great command of his offspeed has enabled Megill to hold an impressive 3.45 ERA through 5 appearances this spring.