Tylor Megill Has A Slow Heartbeat

Tylor Megill had pitched only one game above High-A when this season began, but injuries to the Mets’ rotation necessitated fast-tracking the 25-year-old righthander to the major leagues.

An eighth-round pick out of Arizona in 2018, Megill had logged a 3.35 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 40.1 innings in eight starts for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse when he got the call to the Mets.

His major league debut came on June 23, when he held the Braves to two runs over 4.1 innings. He carried a 3.77 ERA through three starts with 19 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

It was Megill’s professional approach that caught the attention of his new teammates.

“He is kind of like a slow heartbeat guy,” Mets catcher James McCann said. “Even warming up for his first big league start, there was no panic, no stressing on his part.

“He’s got an almost too-cool-for-school type attitude, but then he gets on the mound and competes. It’s not a lazy thing. It’s just a slow heartbeat. There is no situation too big for him.”

Megill’s early contributions were a boost to a Mets rotation that lost Joey Lucchesi to Tommy John surgery and was awaiting potential returns from the injury list by Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco.

The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Megill, whose older brother Trevor pitches for the Cubs, throws a 94-95 mph fastball and complements it with a slider and changeup.

“The fastball kind of jumps on people,” Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “It’s a big body and kind of a slow delivery, so it kind of seems lethargic, maybe. It jumps on people.”

Megill pitched mostly out of the bullpen at Arizona, then in his only full pro season in 2019 he pitched at three levels and recorded a 3.52 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 71.2 innings.

“He continues to hone his craft and worked hard to put him in this position to be successful,” Hefner said.