By Mark Halpern
When the New York Mets started the limited spring training, Taylor Megill was not even a thought for the starting lineup, let alone the MLB roster. The thought was he was going to go down to triple-A ball and would probably be called up in the summer when they would possibly need that extra starter due to heat and wear and tear on a pitcher’s body. However, a week and a half before opening day, the Mets learned that DeGrom would miss at least a month with shoulder discomfort.
Buck Showalter, the Mets manager, wasted no time and told Taylor Megill that he was getting the ball for opening day. Showalter knows what Megill did last season and said, “He deserves a shot.” Megill performed beautifully during his time with the Mets last season. He was a great surprise from his first start and was greatly cheered during his last start.
On Thursday, April 7th Megill took the ball for the Mets during the National’s home opener. The expectations were that he would go at least four innings and possibly give up a run. That didn’t happen as he pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out five. The Mets won that game 5-1, and Megill got the rotation off on the right foot.
Last night Megill took the mound against the Phillies, and from his first pitch till his last, he was excellent. His fastball was topping out at 99mph. For those of you who don’t know, that is the same top speed as Scherzer and DeGrom (DeGrom can and had hit 102mph constantly.) Megill Pitched yet another brilliant game. He went again for five innings giving up three hits and struck out five batters. He also received the win making him 2-0 on the season with an ERA of 0.
Megill has been spectacular these first two games, and we all can’t wait to see more. We know that DeGrom will be back around May, and Taylor Megill has made his case why he belongs in the current rotation. With Walker leaving with a shoulder problem, I expect Megill to be staying, and David Peterson will be kept up to help the rotation, and that is how the old man sees it.
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