BALTIMORE — As the Mets created a rotation over the winter that relegated pitchers David Peterson and Tylor Megill to depth pieces, club officials warned against dismissing their importance. One way or another, they’d be needed, people around the team said. Time and again during one of the franchise’s most disappointing seasons, the thinking proved to be right, but neither pitcher consistently performed well when given opportunities.
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Now, they’re both starting games in August — just not within the context anyone imagined before the start of the season. After the trades of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, Peterson and Megill have become the in-house replacements.
Both have returned to the rotation with an opportunity to recapture some luster over the final two months heading into an offseason that features plenty of intrigue.
Despite Peterson and Megill struggling for most of the season, the Mets don’t have any other internal candidates who project as both more intriguing and realistic. Not yet, anyway. However, other talented, younger pitchers lurk in the minors. Still, it seems unlikely that the Mets would be aggressive with promotions for their more advanced minor-league pitchers because none of them — Mike Vasil in Triple A, Dominic Hamel and Christian Scott in Double A, for example — need to be added to the 40-man roster until December 2024 at the earliest. Moreover, evaluators view the ceilings for the prospects as No. 3 type starters at best.
Perhaps new addition Justin Jarvis, who will be Rule 5 eligible this winter, earns a shot at some point, but it’s unknown when that could happen; his forecast points to more of a back-end starter or reliever, anyway. Also, Mets GM Billy Eppler downplayed pushing prospects last week, saying he’d rather be late than too early. Others on the minor-league depth chart like José Butto flash decent stuff but may have more of a future in the bullpen.
David Peterson. (Tommy Gilligan/USA Today)
As for 2024, Kodai Senga and José Quintana profile as the only starters theoretically locked into the rotation. Even though the Mets’ brass has put more of an emphasis on 2025 and 2026 than on 2024, billionaire owner Steve Cohen recently referred to himself as “competitive” and “opportunistic.” It wouldn’t be so surprising if they spent on a top-tier pitcher. However, based on everything that’s been said over the past week, the Mets adding three more Quintana types wouldn’t be all that shocking, either. Either way, some around the club strongly suspect Cohen will continue to spend more than most. The question remains how much.
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In the meantime, there are Peterson and Megill, two players who will have minor-league options remaining heading into next season along with unclear roles.
Thus, their performances will stand out as interesting, especially given the lack of competing on-field storylines for the remainder of the Mets’ season. A handful of larger issues created the Mets’ ugly 2023, but the struggles of Megill and Peterson deserve mention as one of the secondary reasons for the season gone awry. The final two months offer a final chance to address the regression that fell on both the players and the club’s development leaders.
Most of the results from Megill’s outing on Saturday against the Orioles resembled more of the same for the 28-year-old who failed to seize opportunities earlier in the season when the Mets dealt with pitching injuries. In 4 2/3 innings, Megill allowed nine hits — including two home runs — and five earned runs. His season ERA over 76 innings swelled to 5.45.
The game marked Megill’s first appearance in the majors since June 21. After that outing, the Mets demoted him to Triple A where he struggled until his final start with Syracuse. Things apparently clicked for Megill just before New York recalled him. The Mets sent Megill to the minors with two objectives in mind: dial in on his delivery and fix the shape of his fastball, which had lost vertical break.
“When Tylor is at his best, his fastball gets on guys,” Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “And we just weren’t seeing that.”
While working with the Mets’ pitching coaches in the minors, Megill reclaimed some velocity — he was sitting 94-96 mph while flashing 97 mph — and fixed some mechanics which allowed him to improve his arm speed and better command his fastball, which should be riding through the strike zone more than it was. While in Triple A working with Syracuse pitching coach Kyle Driscoll, director of pitching development Eric Jagers and pitching coordinator Jono Armold, Megill changed his release point, a hard fix to make while in the majors.
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“He’s been an absolute pro,” Hefner said. “It speaks highly of his character. He’s been a pretty good major-league starter for a couple of years. He understood that he was struggling, hurting the team and for his own career, he needed to go down and figure things out. He took ownership of it, didn’t make excuses and got after it.”
As a team that hits four-seam fastballs better than most, the Orioles always figured to present a challenge for Megill. He threw 102 pitches, including nine swings-and-misses with three strikeouts. Though he didn’t issue a walk, location sometimes was a familiar problem; he worked around the middle of the plate too frequently and at times paid for it. Anthony Santander hit a letter-high fastball on a 3-0 count so hard and so far for a home run to right field that Starling Marte didn’t even move. The Orioles forced Megill into a deep pitch count with foul balls and not chasing out of the zone. Still, Megill was encouraged by the changes he made in the minors.
“I don’t think it was terrible,” Megill said of his outing. “Just something to build off of to the next one.”
“I thought it was a good step for him, stuff-wise,” manager Buck Showalter said. “He looked more like himself and it’s got a chance to progress better as we go.”
From a results standpoint, things went better for Peterson, who will turn 28 next month.
On Friday night against the Orioles, Peterson tossed three scoreless innings. He recorded one strikeout and allowed one hit and three walks. He tallied 52 pitches, in line with his limit for the outing. It was his first start since July 8.
In between the starts, the Mets moved Peterson to the bullpen for a couple of reasons, including one they hope helps him over time. New York’s rotation finally reached full health with the return of Quintana, so as the club maintained an interest in obtaining a playoff spot, the team’s brass believed Peterson could best help the cause as a viable lefty reliever. Also, as opposed to dispatching him to Triple A, they saw the transition as an opportunity for Peterson to work on his craft in shorter stints, leading to more consistent in-game feedback in the major leagues. In eight innings (six appearances) as a reliever, Peterson allowed two earned runs (2.25 ERA) with eight strikeouts and three walks, but the team always viewed his future as a starter.
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The Mets just hope he implements some things he learned from his time in the bullpen into his starts, including better conviction.
“From his professional development standpoint, I think it really helped him,” Hefner said.
Many young starters who switch from the rotation to the bullpen back to the rotation say they learn quickly while relieving to ditch what’s not working. That’s what the Mets would like to see from Peterson. For instance, the slider still checks out as Peterson’s best pitch, but if he’s struggling with the breaking ball on a given day, it’s probably best to try the changeup or fastball, even if that moment may call for a slider. In other words, stop force-feeding what just isn’t there, lean on the pitch that’s working and then find ways to work the slider back into the game. Relievers don’t have time to mess around. Quickly, they must know what they have on a given day and establish the strike zone. Peterson, the starter, must do the same.
So far, so good.
“More convicted is an appropriate characterization,” said a rival evaluator who watched Peterson’s latest start.
Peterson reeled in some command issues after a shaky first inning; he retired five of his final six batters. His stuff appeared crisper, and he got ahead in counts. When Peterson navigated Baltimore’s top of the order a second time, he needed just 11 pitches.
“It’s an opportunity to show the front office what we have going into the offseason,” Peterson said. “Every opportunity you get with the ball is an opportunity to state your case. … I’m focused on taking the ball every fifth day and building on the recent success that I’ve had.”
For players like Peterson and Megill, that’s precisely what this year’s Mets — 0-5 since the trade deadline and 50-60 for the season — have been reduced to: just a place for opportunity.
(Top photo of Tylor Megill: Gregory Fisher / USA Today)
Will Sammon is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the New York Mets. A native of Queens, New York, Will previously covered the Milwaukee Brewers and Florida Gators football for The Athletic, starting in 2018. Before that, he covered Mississippi State for The Clarion-Ledger, Mississippi’s largest newspaper. Follow Will on Twitter @WillSammon
