Tylor Megill cannot unlock new pitch, Nate Lavender makes impression in Mets spring opener

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Tylor Megill would not exactly call it an “amazing” situation for the Mets starting pitchers.

A little more than 48 hours after the Mets announced that Kodai Senga would be shut down from throwing due to a right shoulder strain, Megill, who might be one of the prime beneficiaries, took the ball for the Mets’ spring opener against the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at Clover Park.

“Kodai getting hurt is not amazing,” Megill said. “At the end of the day, you’ve gotta compete. Nothing’s ever given, so you gotta compete to earn a spot, so I have to go out there, I have to perform and obviously results are a big deal. So just continue going out there and keep working.”

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A massive void persists as Senga, who finished seventh in National League Cy Young voting as a rookie, takes time to heal. And a sudden competition has begun between Megill, Joey Lucchesi and Jose Butto, who was slated to make his first start on Sunday afternoon.

Megill hit the opening batter, struck out three and allowed one earned run on two hits across two innings in a mixed bag of an outing to begin the spring. After giving up a leadoff single in the second inning, Megill induced a double play and finished his two frames with 39 pitches.

“He did well, especially for getting in trouble and had traffic early on and had to go from the stretch,” Carlos Mendoza said. “I thought he made pitches when needed and limited damage, got a ground ball for that 6-4-3, He had to work early on but made pitches and he was all right.”

Not much of the ‘American spork’

One of Megill’s biggest focuses entering the spring was attacking the zone and working ahead of batters to open up a refined arsenal, which could feature his Senga-taught forkball known as the “American spork,” along with a cutter, sweeper and curveball.

While Megill did not issue any free passes in two innings on Saturday, an errant cutter hit Brendan Donovan in the opening at-bat, forcing Megill to immediately pitch from the stretch. He gave up a bloop single to Lars Nootbar in the next at-bat and a run scored on a one-out ground ball to the right side.

“Yeah, just first inning was a bit of a struggle,” Megill said. “Obviously hit the first batter with a cutter and then straight into the stretch, felt a little rushed and then slowed down towards the end, got the control back and the second inning went pretty smoothly as well.”

Sep 30, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Tylor Megill (38) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

In the first half of last season, Megill featured an 11.9 walk rate and improved that to 7.9 percent across his final 10 starts. Command has been an emphasis, but he struggled with that early in his first spring start.

Megill only threw two first-pitch strikes to the eight batters he faced. And while working behind, Megill was only able to throw two of his splitters over the course of the game. He’s hoping that will change moving forward this spring.

“The majority right now is being ahead and being able to throw it,” Megill said. “Obviously, it seems right now, not running behind, more so when I’m ahead (I can throw it), that’s where attacking the strike zone, getting ahead, being able to utilize the splitter and leverage counts.”

Nate Lavender locked in

In the first action of spring, 24-year-old left-hander Nate Lavender continued to work his way into the discussion.

Lavender, a non-roster invitee who worked to a 2.98 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A last season, made an immediate impression on Saturday by coming on in the eighth inning and striking out the side on 14 pitches.

New York Mets pitcher Nate Lavender (94) poses for a photo during media day.

“I’ve been hearing about this kid for a while now and he’s got deception and he attacks the strike zone,” Mendoza said. “When you throw strikes and you are aggressive in the zone, good things happen.”

Lavender’s stuff doesn’t pop off the page. His fastball lingers in the low-90s, but the rising action, paired with a hesitation move from his lead leg, has a way of deceiving hitters.

“I think there’s will behind it,” Lavender said. “I like to say you throw 92 (mph) with a little doubt in there, it’s probably gonna get hit pretty hard. You throw 92 with some grit and some intention behind it, you’re gonna be alright.”

Lavender took some inspiration from the Yankees’ Nestor Cortes, who can balance on his left leg and rock in his wind-up while also throwing from different arm slots. The Mets reliever, who is competing for one of the final bullpen spots and would need to be added to the 40-man roster, incorporated the hesitation into his throwing progam. And he used it to pin down a spotless 1-2-3 inning and strike out the Cardinals’ Nick Raposo for the ifnal out of the eighth inning on Saturday.

“A couple high-fives and stuff, but at the end of the day, it’s always on to the next,” Lavender said of the dugout reception. “I think about it for a little bit, but there’s always stuff to work on and stuff to improve on. I think we’ve got another outing in two or three days, so looking forward to that one.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Tylor Megill cannot unlock new pitch, Nate Lavender makes impression in Mets spring opener