Tom Brennan - SOMETIMES, SEASONS CAN PIVOT FROM THE MOST UNLIKELY SOURCES

 Man, was I hoping to see Tylor Megill pitch in spring training.  

You see, I was impressed that in 2019, his first full season, he pitched well in low A Columbia, then again for Hi A St Lucie, and even got a very impressive 5 inning start in AA in. I became a fan.

2020, COVID pandemic strikes, though, and he never showed up in the 2020 news or with the Mets. Bummed about that, I surely was.

Spring 2021, he was in the high 20s in the Mets' official prospect list, and I figured, "well, maybe the experts know something I don't know."

He did throw a whopping 2/3 of one scoreless inning late in spring training.  

I wondered, when they used 36 other pitchers in spring training, why he didn't get into a game sooner - maybe they were right; maybe he was nothing more than a high 20s prospect.  Turned out he had COVID prior to spring training, so he did not get to pitch in games.

Season starts, he's in AA, and he pitches the season opener for the Ponies.  Walks 3 in the first inning, getting "ump-squeezed".  After that in AA, he was mostly dominant.  Great control.

Meanwhile, pitchers were being sucked up a vortex out of AAA to the Mets, due to the number of Mets pitchers who entered the IL infirmary.  So, Tylor gets quickly promoted to AAA.  Walks a couple in the first inning, but pretty much dominated after that.  Great control.

Of course he only dominated for 40 innings, in which he fanned 59 batters in AA and AAA, because the Queens vacuum cleaner needed to suck another starter to Queens.  Him.

So, when famous Mets starters like Jake, Thor, Wheeler, Matz, and Harvey needed an average of about 200 innings in AA and AAA, Megill had a total of 45.  Not 200.  Just 45.

Pundits expected rough roads ahead.  Too raw...not ready.  And they were right - except the rough roads ahead were for Megill's hitting opponents.

He faced truly tough teams in his first 3 starts - Atlanta twice, and red hot Milwaukee.  Trial by fire.

So, at a time the Mets were floundering a bit, Megill's 3 starts ended up in 3 crucial Mets wins.  Picture, if you will, if he had pitched like crap and they lost those 3 games...the Mets would be scuffling for their lives.

Considering the rapid progressive career sequence above, prior to his arrival in the big leagues, for Megill to help the Mets win those 3 starts was outstandingly important.

One reason for that success is the 59 Ks in 40 AA and AAA innings were no fluke.  

When you've recorded 43 big league outs and 19 of them are by strikeouts, that tells you one big thing - major league hitters are struggling BIG TIME trying to hit against the Big Fella.

Sometimes, in a season like the Mets are in, where they are in first place in a season where they need to WIN THE DIVISION to get in the playoffs, because the Wild Card teams will come out of the NL West and won't come out of the NL East, the season can pivot from the most unlikely of sources.  

A high 20s prospect with very few career pro innings would be that unlikely source.  Unless you saw that he threw big league stuff, which I took the time to do, with fine control, and real composure.  

Then, maybe it wouldn't be so likely after all.

Some guys get ready real quick.

I for one am looking forward to his likely success going forward.

Back in 2016, the Mets had 2 pitchers come up in August for their debuts who were getting pounded all season in PCL AAA action.  The two, Gsellman and Lugo, went about 9-4, 2.50 down the stretch for the Mets.  No Wild Card would have been won if they had come up and instead gone 4-9, 5.50.  They were that "unlikely source that year."

This year, it is Megill.  Somewhere, this writer (and fan) is smiling.

But don't listen to me.  Listen to him.  Megill said yesterday: 

"It's exciting, I'm just trying to put myself and the team in the best position possible to win each time I go out there. It's not about me all the time, it's about the team."

Tylor, it is about you, too. Congratulations.  

Keep making the unlikely happen.