Last year just didn’t go the way Tylor Megill had hoped it would. He began his first season with the Arizona Wildcats as a starter but couldn’t keep the job. He would pitch brilliantly at times, shakily at others.
Something had to change, Megill determined.
“My body,” he said, “was definitely something in that category.”
So Megill set out to get in better shape. With help from trainers at home and on campus, he lost 15 pounds. The 6-foot-6 right-hander now weighs 230.
Megill looks and feels “like a different guy,” he said. He’s pitching like a different pitcher.
The hard- throwing senior has three saves in four appearances for Arizona, which faces Minnesota on Friday in Minneapolis in its first game of the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge. He has allowed only four hits and one run in 7ª innings while striking out 10.
“He’s been spectacular,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “You can’t win without a good closer. He’s been that for us.”
Megill’s three saves match his total from last season. Not much else is the same.
Megill transferred to Arizona in the summer of 2016 after spending his first two seasons at Loyola Marymount and Cypress College in his native Southern California. He started three early season games for the Wildcats, surrendering 10 runs in 6ª innings. He didn’t make it out of the second in his first two outings.
Megill finished the season in the bullpen. He struck out 36 batters in 35º innings but had a 5.55 ERA.
Instead of playing summer ball, Megill put in two-a-day workouts with trainer Brandan Schieppati at Rise Above Fitness in Huntington Beach, California. Upon returning to campus, Megill continued to work on his body with UA strength coach Jim Krumpos.
“They got me in tiptop shape,” Megill said after throwing two scoreless innings to save Arizona’s 5-4 victory over New Mexico State on Tuesday. “So far, it’s been paying off.”
Megill made two other changes. One was to his diet; he started eating smaller portions. The other was to his mindset.
Megill struggled to stay in the present at times last season, he said. He would let little things bother him. He would get frustrated.
Megill worked with the coaching staff on improving his mental approach. He summed it up as follows: “Just staying locked in pitch by pitch. You can’t let the outside factors affect you.”
So far, Megill has shown a newfound capacity to bounce back – a trait all good closers must possess.
Megill took the loss in Arizona’s game against San Diego State last Friday, surrendering the winning run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning. Afterward, Megill told Johnson he’d be ready to pitch the following day.
Johnson took Megill up on the offer. The senior threw 2ª hitless innings to save the UA’s 9-5 victory over Michigan.
Against New Mexico State, Megill entered in the top of the eighth with the Wildcats holding a one-run lead. He allowed a double to the first batter he faced, Caleb Henderson. Megill then retired the next three batters, stranding Henderson at third. Megill pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.
“Tylor from last year wouldn’t have bounced back as good as Tylor this year,” UA catcher Cesar Salazar said. “That (says) a lot about him – not only physically but how he matured mentally too.”
Megill has tried to be more of a leader this season. It’s the first time since his college career began that he has been at one school for more than one year.
Johnson is glad Megill decided to return rather than pursue a possible professional opportunity. The coach said in the fall that Megill had “more talent in the tank than we were allowed to see last year.”
That has proved true entering the third weekend of the season. Whether Megill remains in the closer role remains to be seen.
As Johnson has noted, the pitcher who began the past two seasons as the closer – Bobby Dalbec in 2016, Cameron Ming in 2017 – ended the year as a starter. Megill’s responsibilities could shift.
Johnson is confident Megill can handle whatever gets thrown at him. That wasn’t the case a year ago.
“Honestly,” Johnson said, “it’s like getting a new recruit because it’s really a new person physically and mentally. I’m really proud of him.”
Inside pitch
• The Wildcats are 4-0 at home, 0-2 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games. Arizona will face Illinois on Saturday and Michigan State on Sunday at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium. The other participants in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge are UCLA and Washington.
• Right-hander Cody Deason (1-0, 1.46 ERA) will make his third straight Friday start for the Wildcats. Righty Michael Flynn (1-0, 4.15) is scheduled to follow him Saturday.
• Arizona has allowed 20 runs, its lowest eight-game total to start the season since surrendering 18 in 2007. The Wildcats have a 2.01 team ERA. Last year’s staff had a 4.36 ERA.
• Salazar went 3 for 3 against NMSU to raise his average to .346, best among Arizona’s regulars.
• Sophomore right fielder Matt Fraizer is just 3 for 20 but leads the team in walks (six) and sacrifice bunts (three).
