Megill Continues Audition for Rotation

The Mets offense was listless Sunday afternoon in a 5-0 loss against the Astros, but with most offensive roster spots set in stone and more intrigue set aside for the pitching staff, all eyes were on starter Tylor Megill.

It was a mixed bag for Megill, the first Met pitcher this spring to make it through five innings. The righty gave up four runs on six hits, bumping his pre-season ERA to 3.86. While Megill wasn’t hoping for that stat line, he was happy with his progress.

“Felt great,” Megill said, “All the pitches were working, obviously the results a little different, but the main priority was throwing strikes, attacking the hitters, getting the ball in play…I felt like I did that really well today.”

Megill faced a potent Houston lineup, which included the likes of Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes and Yordan Alvarez. While Megill kept those hitters in check, he struggled against the middle to lower part of the order, giving up a home run to top prospect Cam Smith and a two-run single to Zach Dezenzo.

Carlos Mendoza agreed with his pitcher that his performance was better than what the score reflected. Mendoza spoke to the media after the game, noting other than the wayward fastball that ended up in the seats off Smith’s bat, his mix of pitches was effective.

“I thought he pitched better than what the lines show,” Mendoza said, “Stuff-wise, I thought it was really good…I thought the change-up was good, I thought the slider was good.

Megill was able to generate some swing-and-miss. Of his 74 pitches, 39 were offered at, and of those 39 swings, the Astros came up empty 13 times, a whopping 33% of the time.

Megill led with his fastball, which is customary for him. He threw 46, splitting them nearly equally in terms of four-seamers and sinkers, 24 and 22, respectively. His slider often worked as a putaway pitch, causing five whiffs out of eight swings, but the one time it was put in play was critical; Dezenzo’s single, which was hit with an exit velocity of 104.1 mph.

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, Megill may have done enough this spring to earn a spot in the Opening Day rotation. Puma reports Mets officials are discussing Tylor Megill working in the rotation with Paul Blackburn on the outside looking in from the bullpen.

The Mets may use a five-man rotation to start the season with the built-in off days, and as of today, with the first pitch of the season ten days away, that fifth spot may be Megill’s.

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