Mets to start Tylor Megill for Opening Day at Nationals
With two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom essentially out indefinitely and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer understandably taking an extra day of rest to recover from a hamstring issue, the New York Mets had to choose somebody among Tylor Megill, Trevor Williams and David Peterson to start for Thursday's Opening Day clash at the division-rival Washington Nationals.
Manager Buck Showalter confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that Megill will be his man for Thursday afternoon.
As Mike Puma noted for the New York Post, Megill wasn't guaranteed a spot in the rotation as of March 20. That, however, was before deGrom was shut down with a stress reaction in the scapula of his pitching shoulder and also before starting right-hander Taijuan Walker exited Tuesday's exhibition matchup against Washington with knee soreness, an update that's concerning considering Walker underwent knee surgery in January.
Megill made 18 starts during his rookie season in 2021 and ended the campaign at 4-6 with a 4.52 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 89.2 innings of work. Per Andrew Tredinnick of NorthJersey.com (h/t Poughkeepsie Journal), the 26-year-old pitched 6.2 innings during spring training and surrendered zero earned runs, five hits and five walks to go along with seven strikeouts.
Scherzer is expected to take the bump Friday in Washington, and Walker is hoping to make his scheduled start at the Philadelphia Phillies early next week. It's likely, though, that deGrom won't face batters in a meaningful game before June.
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