Port St. Lucy – Tyler Megill looks much thinner than last season, but claims he's only lost a few pounds.
“That's what everyone is saying. I look thinner, but I'm not losing weight,” Megill said. “Maybe like five pounds. That's about it. I think I just leaned in.”
If there is a spring ritual at Mets Camp, it is Megill that arrives without a guaranteed roster spot as the depth of the spin.
Often, an injury to another starting pitcher allowed Megill to beat camp with his team.
This spring, he sits behind Kodai Senga, Sean Mania, Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, David Peterson and Griffin Canning, in the apparent hierarchy of six-person rotations.
With the remaining minor league options, Megill has taken the approach that even if he can't start the season with his team, he should have plenty of opportunities.
“I'm used to it, but that's not what I want to do,” Megill said of bouncing between the Triple-A Syracuse and the Mets. “I want to start every five or six days in the big leagues, not in the minor leagues. Obviously, in a way, I smoke being in Triple A, but at the same time, you can't fall for it, and You can't scream about. You still have to work on your business and work, stay positive and help others around you. It's about you and your career, but at the same time, others It's about trying to help people get better.”
Last season, Megill was pitched to a 4.04 ERA in 16 Mets appearances (15 of which started).
His best work came in the team's final six starts after returning from Syracuse in August.
On that stretch he pitched to a 2.32 ERA.
“I've started throwing a lot of strikes and getting deeper into the game, which is good,” Megill said. “It has always been my goal to try and figure it out as deep as possible, with triple A. Obviously, it was translated when I returned. The pitch count was much lower. Finished the fifth Then you can enter the sixth and finish six innings. That's always my problem, five and six innings. When I come back, five and six innings was completely different.”
On Friday, he threw two innings of live batting practice, with Homer allowing Brett Batty.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said he's already talking to Megill about the possibility that he might start the season in Syracuse.
“He's competing, and that's what we told him,” Mendoza said. “Make sure you're ready, and we'll see what happens. He's going to get a lot of start for us.”
