Tylor Megill's good pitching, the productive DH tandem and the rotten lefty relievers

Heading into Spring Training, it appeared that Tylor Megill was going to draw the short stick. As the only starter with available options, the most likely scenario was that Megill was going to be sent to the minors, to be kept stretched out as a starter for if and when the Mets needed to add someone to the rotation. Instead, three starters wound up on the IL to start the season, making it necessary for Megill to go north with the club.

In two starts this year, Megill has pitched well. He’s 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA, which is sixth in the majors in ERA. He’s still walking more guys than you’d prefer. Yet, his BB/9 have gone from 4.13 in 2023 to 3.69 a season ago to 3.48 so far in 2025. The big thing is that he’s kept the ball in the park, not allowing a gopher ball in 10.1 IP.

Going back to last year, the Mets have gone 8-0 in Megill’s last eight starts. And it’s not because the offense has just shown up when he pitches. Instead, in his last 41.1 IP, Megill has a 1.96 ERA and he’s limited opposing hitters to a .548 OPS. And he has 46 Ks and 14 BB in this span, a strong 3.29 K/BB ratio.

Now the challenge is for Megill to add quantity to the quality he’s given the team.

LINDOR LOOKS TO BREAK THE NARRATIVE – The story has become how Francisco Lindor starting off poorly is right up there with death and taxes. Sure enough, Lindor began the season 0-11 in his first three games. Since then, he has a modest four-game hitting streak, raising his OPS from .077 to .498 for the year. After seven games last season – Lindor sat out one game in 2025 due to the birth of his son – Lindor had a .251 OPS. It was 19 games into 2024 before Lindor had an OPS as good as what he has now. He looks comfortable at the plate and the hope is that Lindor can avoid the prolonged slump to start the year.

IT FEELS LIKE OLD TIMES – For many, many years, the challenge in these notes columns was not to write about how bad the Mets’ lefty relievers were. It wouldn’t have been too distressing if the Sandy Alderson/Terry Collins regime didn’t believe so strongly that the key to a good bullpen were lefty relievers. The duo felt the need to prioritize the deployment of the lefties, giving them the most-advantageous matchups possible. And it just didn’t work – year after year after year. You would have hoped that it made an impression the year they went to the World Series was the year they didn’t have a LOOGY. But it didn’t.

The rule requiring relievers to finish an inning or face a minimum of three batters has essentially neutered the LOOGY. Still, teams like to have lefty relievers around to bring in to face tough lefty batters. Nothing wrong with that in principle, so long as the lefties are actually, you know, good. The Mets have two lefty relievers on the squad and those two are the only ones in the team’s 8-man pen to have an ERA over 1.69 and a WHIP above 1.313 here in the early going.

A.J. Minter has a 6.75 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP, while Danny Young has a 7.71 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. The two have combined for 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB and 8 Ks. That’s a 7.20 ERA and a 2.200 WHIP. It’s bringing back not-so-fond memories of Robert Carson and Scott Rice.

METS FINALLY GET PRODUCTION FROM A POSITION DESIGNED FOR OFFENSE – Since MLB voted to make the designated hitter mandatory in both leagues prior to the 2022 season, the Mets have not had great success with the spot. In 2022, the DHs for the clubs finished 19^th with a .685 OPS, 20^th in 2023 with a .715 mark and 15^th last year with a .731 OPS. And it’s not like the Mets were a dismal team in this span. They won 89 games in 2024 and 101 in 2022.

But after Jesse Winker’s big game Saturday night, DHs for the Mets have a 1.006 OPS, the sixth-best mark in the majors. Winker has a 1.046 OPS while Starling Marte has a .940 mark. Since 2022, the Mets have tried to create a good DH utilizing a platoon, mainly failing due to lousy production from the RHB part. Marte has succeeded thanks to 3 HBP and a HR in his 13 trips to the plate.

JUST IMAGINE WHEN THE HITS START DROPPING IN – Despite a 1-2 start, the Mets are 5-3 on the season, thanks mostly to the pitching. The starters have been giving quality, if not quantity, while the relievers are giving both. Meanwhile, the most-charitable thing you can say about the offense is that it’s doing just enough to stack some wins. Yet maybe we shouldn’t be so tough on the hitters. No one looks good when the balls find gloves and the Mets as a team are 29^th with a .212 BABIP. And it’s not because they’re belting a bunch of homers, as the team is 19^th with 8 HR. Both 2B and CF are black holes offensively and things are compounded with the slow starts of Lindor and Mark Vientos. Hopefully those two hitters get straightened out. Combine that with the return of Jeff McNeil and perhaps the offense will have only one spot as an anchor in the near-future.