Tylor Megill Shines In Final Start of Season

Tylor Megill came into the 2023 season on the outside looking in, but injuries in the starting rotation gave him an early opportunity to flourish in the big leagues. While he didn’t thrive in the early months of the year, he still found a way to make an impact following the All-Star break. Megill had the best start of his major league career in the New York Mets’ 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, one that gave him a standing ovation as he left the mound at Citi Field.

The 28-year-old had never taken a major league start into the eight inning until yesterday, as he threw a career-high 7 1/3 innings while allowing just one run on four hits and striking out seven. Megill was in total command, as the Phillies were unable to put quality at-bats together all afternoon. That performance was just a continuation of a strong stretch for the starter, as he finished the year going 2-2 with a solid 2.93 ERA over his final seven starts.

Megill was fantastic on the day, but the most compelling story to come out of the outing was his usage of the split-finger fastball, also known as a forkball that has been used frequently by Mets’ rookie Kodai Segna. He [Megill] has watched Senga dominated with that pitch all season, so he decided to mix it in to his own repertoire on Saturday.

“You watch him [Senga] go out there and throw it, they know it’s coming and the swings he has [against it], why not try to implement that?” Megill said. “I’ve got the fingers [for it] that are spread out. It feels natural to me.”

Overall, on the season, the numbers aren’t the prettiest for Megill, given how poorly the season began. He finishes the year with an 8-8 record and a 4.92 ERA. He struck out 98 hitters across 119 innings and 24 starts.

The starting rotation for the 2024 Mets may include some new faces, but based off the last two months, guys like David Peterson, José Butto, Joey Lucchesi and Megill have shown that they can play their role in winning baseball. Even if they don’t make the Opening Day roster, all four of them will have a part to play in the Mets making their return to the postseason this time next year.