2 Mets prospects, 3 veterans in the minors who will be key for the team in the first half

There wasn’t enough room at the “inn” for these New York Mets players. All candidates for the Opening Day roster, they’ll begin the year in the minors.

Major League Baseball doesn’t allow the manager to bring enough gum for the whole class. These two prospects and three veterans will wait around for the call back to the majors. In the first half of the 2023 season, they’ll be key assets to help get through the marathon.

NY Mets pitcher Tylor Megill will be the first starting pitcher to have in mind

Let’s get this one out of the way immediately because he is already here. Tylor Megill should rent, not own, a place in Syracuse. He’s going to bounce around between the majors and minors this year. His importance to the ball club cannot be overstated. He has already filled in for Justin Verlander and helped the Mets win a game. He’s taking on the same role David Peterson had last year with a chance to be more.

It’s no secret the Mets starting pitching staff is older. Even beyond Verlander and Max Scherzer, the plan was to have an all 30-and-up starting five this year. The workload on Kodai Senga and the age of Carlos Carrasco may play a factor more often than we’d like. This is where Megill becomes valuable. Even to push everyone back in the rotation just a single day, he can provide them with a start and a realistic shot to win a game.

This may not be the ideal role Megill had in mind. After starting for the team on Opening Day last season, he was supposed to be back in the minors at the start of the 2023 season. He’ll have an unexpected early opportunity to make his mark. So far, so good.