There were some scoffs when injuries to Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer forced the New York Mets to use Tylor Megill as their Opening Day starting pitcher, but it increasingly appears that he may get the last laugh.
Even in a relatively pedestrian performance in a loss to the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, Megill struck out nine batters. His 35 strikeouts through his first six starts of the season put him ninth in the league, and that's hardly the only category where Megill stands out early in the season.
Megill's four wins in the early going are tied for the league lead, and he's in the top 10 among starting pitchers in innings pitched (33.0), FIP (2.49) and fWAR (0.9).
Most notably, Megill pitched five shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 29, making him part of the first combined no-hitter in franchise history.
The 26-year-old has seen an uptick in his velocity both on his fourseam fastball (up from 94.7 mph to 95.7 mph) and changeup (up from 85.5 mph to 89.0 mph) year-over-year, which have contributed to a season that's a few impressive starts away from having a legitimate All-Star candidacy.
Scherzer remains Scherzer. The future Hall of Famer is 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA in his first season with the Mets. Carlos Carrasco and Chris Bassitt are both off to strong starts in 2022. Taijuan Walker -- an All-Star a year ago -- looked very good in his first start back from a shoulder injury. The Mets are 18-9 and look like a World Series contender as is. Just imagine how good they'll be if they get a healthy deGrom back in the second half of the season.
More Mets Notes
- Brandon Nimmo does just about everything well. He hits for contact and power, and is an excellent fielder at all three outfield positions. If the Mets don't re-sign the 29-year-old after the 2022 season, he's going to be a coveted free agent.
- The Mets have a chance to really deal a blow to the division-rival Phillies (currently 11-14) in a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park this weekend. If they win three or more games in the series, calls for the Phillies to make a change at manager from Joe Girardi could get pretty loud.
- After the Mets defeated the Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball, I examined ESPN's new booth and the in-game interviews they are doing, which featured Francisco Lindor this past weekend.
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