Trevor Megill Is a Low-Risk, Potentially High-Reward Addition

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

Many fans of the Minnesota Twins were confused last week when the team claimed reliever Trevor Megill off of waivers from the Chicago Cubs only for them to non-tender him hours later. However, clarity for the decision came this past Sunday when SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reported that Megill had re-signed with the team on a minor league deal.

Megill and all 6-foot-8-inches, 250 pounds of him made his major league debut for the Chicago Cubs this past summer, where he appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen. He owns a four-pitch mix, but primarily relies on his four-seam fastball, which can touch 100 mph, and curveball.

The fastball has the raw attributes to be an above average pitch, ranking in the 88th percentile in spin rate and possessing good carry; however, big league opponents mashed it for five home runs and three doubles in 71 plate appearances. (It should be noted, though, that Megill likely suffered from a small sample size and a touch of bad luck. The fireballer allowed seven home runs in 23 ⅔ innings, five of which came at Wrigley Field. According to Baseball Savant, had he pitched the majority of his innings at Target Field, he would have only surrendered two. His 24.1% HR/FB ratio at the MLB level was the second largest of his career by far, trailing only the 26.7% rate he posted in 20 innings at Low-A in 2015.)

However, the pitch that likely caught the Twins front office’s eye the most is, you guessed it, his slider. Megill threw his slider only 44 times last summer (26 times to right-handed batters and 18 to lefties), but did so with great success. Nine of his 30 strikeouts came via the slider — it had an absurd, and unsustainable, 56.5% Whiff% — with opponents posting an xSLG of .273.

Based on previous evidence provided from their approach with other pitchers, it would not be surprising to see the Twins’ pitching staff adjust Megill’s pitch mix by upping the usage of his slider and cutting down on his fastball and curve. (Of note: The pitching staff is allowed to communicate and work with Megill directly as minor league players are not covered by the now-expired CBA. This would not have been the case had they not non-tendered him and kept him on the 40-man roster.)

Much like the signing of fellow minor league bullpen arm Jake Faria, the acquisition of Megill is representative of the front office’s approach to filling out their bullpen. Megill has one pitch that could be elite (the slider) and some statistical evidence suggesting that he’s better than what his performance to date suggests. However, what potentially separates Megill from Faria is his high velocity fastball in combination with a positive track record in the minor leagues. (Megill consistently posted K-BB% rates above 22% while in the San Diego Padres and Cubs’ systems.)

Megill is unlikely to be the savior of the Twins’ bullpen woes, but he is an intriguing arm that is more than worth a flier, particularly on a minor league deal.

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[Karbo]

I have no problem taking a chance on guys on a minor league contract 

[old nurse]

So much for the FO not liking flame throwers

[Doctor Gast]

Looks like there's a lot that could be gained and nothing to lose. Good FO type deal. An rotational arm if he pans out.

[Unwinder]

Should be fun to watch at CHS at least.

[USNMCPO]

Of note also is that on a MiLB contract allows him to use the Twins facilities and work with MLB coaches during the lockout.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

As I posted earlier, it's good to see a 6 foot 8, 250 pound player running in from the Twins bull pen in the event of a fight when the opposing pitcher pitches Buck up and in too much. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Megill may turn out to be a useful acquisition. He is very interesting. I want to follow him closely in spring training. 

[mikelink45]

Nothing wrong with the article but this is a filler when there is no real news to report or discuss. I really don't care about this guy. If he comes through for us that's great, but bottom feeding is not exciting. 

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Nothing wrong with the article but this is a filler when there is no real news to report or discuss. I really don't care about this guy. If he comes through for us that's great, but bottom feeding is not exciting. 

Well, top feeding isn't allowed at the moment lol. Got get excited about something!

[Whitey333]

Oh please stop.  Get excited by another potential reclamation project?  I know they can't sign any top guys now with the lockout.  But they weren't going to sign anyone there anyway.  I do have empathy for you though.  It must be very difficult to come up with something during this lockout.  I hope the lockout ends soon ( very doubtful) so we can talk real twins baseball:. No major free agent signings, a boring team with a terrible  and even more boring front office.

[Trov]

I feel just about every team that has huge success there is always a couple of guys that surprise with output. Sometimes it is a rookie, or a breakout year from someone, or a vet that has a career year.  Maybe Megill will become one of those guys. 

[WyoTwin]

Kind of reminds me of Anderson last year?

[MN_ExPat]

3 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Oh please stop.  Get excited by another potential reclamation project?  I know they can't sign any top guys now with the lockout.  But they weren't going to sign anyone there anyway.  I do have empathy for you though.  It must be very difficult to come up with something during this lockout.  I hope the lockout ends soon ( very doubtful) so we can talk real twins baseball:. No major free agent signings, a boring team with a terrible  and even more boring front office.

If you don't like it/these features.... don't read them.

[jmlease1]

16 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Nothing wrong with the article but this is a filler when there is no real news to report or discuss. I really don't care about this guy. If he comes through for us that's great, but bottom feeding is not exciting. 

I'm a fan of bottom feeding when it comes to the bullpen. Grabbing guys like this where a tweak to the pitch mix/delivery or they just need some good health as part of a stable of potential on minor league deals is smart business because so many relievers are really fungible from year to year. putting yourself in a position to have options while also not getting yourself locked into the ol' sunk cost fallacy is a positive move to me. The number of bullpen arms I'm excited about throwing $6-8M on is smaller than you might think.

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

I also like this approach.  The FA approach we took in the pen last year didn’t pan out well so why not try a different approach.

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

3 hours ago, MN_ExPat said:

If you don't like it/these features.... don't read them.

Whoa now! I get paid by clicks so, to be clear: Please hate read my articles and share them with your friends;) 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Lucas Seehafer PT

[mikelink45]

4 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I'm a fan of bottom feeding when it comes to the bullpen. Grabbing guys like this where a tweak to the pitch mix/delivery or they just need some good health as part of a stable of potential on minor league deals is smart business because so many relievers are really fungible from year to year. putting yourself in a position to have options while also not getting yourself locked into the ol' sunk cost fallacy is a positive move to me. The number of bullpen arms I'm excited about throwing $6-8M on is smaller than you might think.

That is fine.  I just am not excited about a signing like this. 

[old nurse]

On 12/8/2021 at 8:06 PM, mikelink45 said:

Nothing wrong with the article but this is a filler when there is no real news to report or discuss. I really don't care about this guy. If he comes through for us that's great, but bottom feeding is not exciting. 

It is called giving a player a chance., something like a rule v pick up that did not cost even 50K

[High heat]

I like this flier deal for a bullpen arm.  I really like that he was taken off the 40 man and signed a minor league deal and willing to work with Twins coaching.  If this lockout goes into February when pitchers and catchers report im assuming coaching staff is going to be required to show up at ST.  This would give a lot of close watch hands on coaching he likely would not get otherwise.  Big fastball and good slider pitchers can be extremely successful in the bullpen!