Tom Brennan: Megill to Pen Makes Sense; Tales of Tong Terrific; Etc.

Brad Hand once converted from poor starter to fine reliever

(Ohh..Nail biter win last night - but a W is a W. Record it to our credit in the ledgers.  And 5 home runs?  It does not sway my feelings for shorter fences in 2025.  The Colorado starter was weak and very homer-prone. They took care of business, that's all.)  

I heard it said that JD Martinez pointed out something in Jose Iglesias' swing to Jose that improved his bat speed, and Jose is killing it.  Also, Mark Vientos (.299/.353/.569)  is hitting like Andres Galarraga, and does anyone doubt that part of that improvement is due to input from JD Martinez?  Keep JD, now, and for 2025 - he is MUCH MORE than his stats.

Don't look now - the Mets are 4th in HRs and 9th in runs scored.  Only 24 runs behind the #1 scoring team, the Yanks, and the Mets have played 3 fewer games than them, and 1-3 fewer games than the 8 teams ahead of them in scoring.  Which tells me...the Mets may just have the most potent offense in baseball.  Chew on THAT for a while.  Now - on to my regular article.

 Tylor Megill to the pen? Why would that be a good idea?

How about these 4 reasons:

1) Genetics: His brother Trevor Megill has adapted to relieving, and has a 1.53 ERA in 31 outings this year, with 18 of 19 in saves. In other words he seems to be Edwin Diaz, circa 2022. Trevor is 3 years older than Tylor, and 3 years ago, Trevor 2022 was quite inferior to the 2024 version of Trevor, so perhaps his bro' Tylor is on the cusp of catapulting forward age-wise, if he in fact heads to the Mets' pen to dominate.

2) Last two minors outings, Tylor was stellar for the first 2-3 innings. In those two starts, he totaled 5 innings of dominance early on: 

1 hit, 1 walk, 9 Ks. 

His innings after those early innings in his last two starts, he got smacked around. There has always been a question of his ability to go deep into games. Pen arms have no need to do so.

3) His ERA in the first innings of MLB games has not been good in 2024, due to a few bad first innings. But if he felt he had to just go 1 to 2 innings, the focus would change from game longevity to just getting the next few batters out. My guess is he’d be successful.

4) You want pen guys who can punch out batters. In the majors and minors this year, he has fanned 85 in 61 innings. As a starter, primarily. Maybe as a reliever, he’d rear back more and fan even more.

My conclusion?  Stick him in the Mets’ pen, and see how he does. 

It worked wonderfully in the past with two struggling starters: 

Andrew Miller, Brad Hand, Seth Lugo. It could work for Tylor Megill.

TALES OF TONG TERRIFIC

So, this 21 year old kid, righty Jonah Tong, had a struggling, brief pro debut season in 2023. He was in fact drafted in 2022.  7th round. 

Brilliant pick, if you ask me.

Here is an interesting article on Tong, showing he is by nature a fighter who addresses real challenges head-on, and is analytically intelligent:

Tong’s Journey

His first pro outing was June 30, 2023. 

He had a few rough 2023 outings, leading to a 6.00 ERA in 2023 in just 21 innings

…but wait, 38 Ks in 21 IP. What??

OK, now it’s 2024…

He tears up St Lucie like an Atlantic hurricane to start 2024. 

18.2 innings, 7 hits, no earned runs, 36 Ks. 

...What??

He starts out well in May after his promo to Brooklyn.

But in a stretch of 3 outings, turns out he’s mortal: 10.1 IP, 11 earned runs. 

...What??

Does he run into a corner with his blanky and pout? No. Heck no.

After that brief 3 outing scuffle in High A ball, his last 4 starts have included 22 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs, and 32 Ks.  Brilliant.  

...What??

He is 4-2, 2.12, 72 IP, 106 Ks, 1.01 WHIP in 2024, thru Thursday action.

And he sure looks ready for AA right now, based on the last 4 killer outings.

We may well need him in the Mets’ rotation plans at some point in 2025. 

....What??

You heard me.

Him and Brandon Sproat. Two killers in the future Mets rotation.

DSL METS TEAM ALMOST SUFFER A PERFECT GAME

After 7 innings, no runners, 12 Ks. 

Their final line, in a blow out loss, was 2 runs, 1 hit, 6 errors.  

No RBIs for those 2 runs, as the 3rd opposing team pitcher walked 2, allowed a hit, and had 2 wild pitches and a balk.

Just another clean-as-a-whistle DSL dandy of a game.

In the FCL, Daiverson Gutierrez hit a HR, and after a tough 2023, the bonus baby is hitting .300 in 70 ABs in 2024.  Highly encouraging. 

Jeffry Rosa, on the other hand, was the guy who led the entire 50 team DSL in homers with 15 last year. Stateside ball in 2024 has been awfully tough for Rosa, though, as he is hitting .143 with 77 Ks in 210 PAs.

My mother always used to say, If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. So, let me end with this:

Jaylen Palmer, oft cited in the past for high Ks by me, has played 7 July games in AA and is .360/.448/.520 in those games.  Good stuff.