Adversity has struck the Mets before their first pitch of the season – and it’s left manager Buck Showalter with a tough decision to make right out of the gate.
With aces Jacob deGrom (out for at least a month) and Max Scherzer (dealing with a hamstring injury) both unavailable to begin the season, the Mets are faced with a unique situation: starting a pitcher on Opening Day that may not ultimately crack the team’s regular rotation.
But don’t tell Tylor Megill, David Peterson, or Trevor Williams that they don’t deserve the ball when the Mets open the 2022 season on Thursday afternoon.
Each has had periods of success during their brief time in New York, although it’s still surprising to hear their names under consideration for Opening Day starter – once again, considering the rotation the Mets expected to have entering this week.
Here’s a breakdown of these three pitchers, with a specific focus on their career history against the Nationals, whom they’ll face in game 1 of 162.
Tylor Megill
The second-year righty has impressed in his first spring training since making his major league debut, making a case to stay in the rotation while deGrom remains on the injured list. In 6 2/3 spring innings, Megill has allowed two runs, although no of them have been earned. He’s surrendered five hits and has walked five batters, but has struck out seven at the plate as well.
In an abbreviated spring training, Megill’s spring lasted even shorter, as he appeared in just two of the exhibition contests.
In Megill’s rookie season, he faced the Nationals twice, posting a 4.91 ERA in 11.0 innings. Coincidentally, these starts came in back-to-back appearances in late August and early September. In the first of those outings, Megill allowed just one hit and two earned runs in five innings, getting both a win and a quality start in the Mets eventual 9-4 victory.
His second start versus the Nats, this time in D.C., was rare in that he threw a six inning complete game – thanks to the seven inning doubleheader rule that is now a thing of the past. However, two home runs were part of four runs allowed for Megill on the day, as he took the loss.
David Peterson
Now entering this third season with the Mets, Peterson hasn’t had a great spring in limited action. He’s thrown just 6 2/3 innings, allowing six earned runs, including three long balls. The sample size here is obviously limited, and even through Peterson’s first two major league seasons, he hasn’t even reached 120 combined innings pitched.
Still just 26 years of age, Peterson is likely to get the largest workload of any season of his brief career thus far, and this early possible start will be a good test for him to get his season off to a strong start. After missing all of the second half of last season due to injury, getting the ball from the get go will be extremely crucial for Peterson’s development as a pitcher.
In his only appearance versus the Nationals last season, Peterson went 4 2/3 innings as the starter, allowing two hits and allowing one earned one, while walking three batters and striking out six. Dating back to his rookie season, Peterson’s 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 career innings against the Nats is his lowest ERA against any opponent he’s faced at least once.
Trevor Williams
Although Williams may be on the outside looking in of this trio, he’s actually had the best spring of the group – allowing no runs and four hits through two games pitched (no starts), totalling five innings. He’s struck out six batters and even closed out a game as well, as the Mets look to find where – if at all – Williams fits into this team’s pitching heading into the regular season.
Williams’ first start as a Met actually was against these Nationals, a game in which he pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, two walks, and one run. In his second start against the Nats, he allowed just two earned runs.
Outlook
Ultimately, whoever the Mets decide to pitch on Opening Day, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, while Opening Day is symbolically one of the most important games of the season, in reality it is just another April game. Even with a strong start, the pitcher in Thursday’s game – assuming it comes from this group – still faces an uphill battle in finding a prominent role on this year’s rotation.
But that’s a good problem to have, at least for the Mets. In fact, don’t be surprised to see the Mets throw a combination of two, or possibly even all three of these pitchers, in Thursday’s game, as Showalter mentioned this could be somewhat of a bullpen game if needed. If Jacob or Max were taking the mound, the narrative would be a bit different, but the situation is what it is; the Mets want to start the season 1-0, so they’ll have to work within their limited options for the time being.
