Trevor Megill made his MLB debut for the Chicago Cubs.
It was 2021, and Megill looked the part of a potentially dominant pitcher — physically, at least.
He stands 6-foot-8 and weighs in at more than 250 pounds. Megill is built in a way that few other guys are who step onto the mound.
The problem is that Megill wasn’t any good for the Cubs. They put him in 28 games. He allowed 22 earned runs in 23.2 innings (8.37 ERA), including seven home runs. He did strikeout 30 guys in that work, so the stuff was there somewhere, but it wasn’t where it needed to be yet.
Five years later, Megill is a star closer for the Milwaukee Brewers, and they’re going to the World Series.
Megill has had an ERA under 3.00 for each of the past three seasons. He saved 30 games last year and 30 more this year.
In four years with Milwaukee, he has struck out 11.0 batters per nine innings and posted a 2.80 ERA.
Maybe he would’ve never reached this potential with the Cubs, but it sure can’t feel great for them to watch Megill succeed with a division rival like this.
Trevor Megill’s Path to Brewers
Megill was drafted twice, after each of his final two college seasons at Loyola Marymount.
The St. Louis Cardinals took him in the third round of the 2014 MLB Draft, but he didn’t sign.
He entered pro ball when the San Diego Padres took him in the seventh round of the 2015 MLB Draft.
Megill never made the majors with the Padres. He was available in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft, and the Cubs picked him.
The 2020 COVID-impacted season probably didn’t help Megill’s development, but he finally got to debut in 2021 for the Cubs.
After getting hit around all year, the Cubs waived him in Nov. 2021. The Minnesota Twins picked him up.
Megill pitched 39 games for the Twins in 2022 with a 4.80 ERA.
The Twins then traded Megill in April 2023 to the Brewers for a player to be named later — who ended up being Taylor Floyd, a guy who hasn’t reached the major leagues.
Brewers’ Bullpen Options
Megill is the Brewers’ first-string closer, to be sure, but the Brewers have made it this far in part because their bullpen is about more than him.
Aaron Ashby, a lefty, closed out Game 4 of the NLCS to advance to the World Series.
Abner Uribe has also been dominant out of the bullpen at times, as well.
The Brewers have proven they can find good players in a variety of places. And with Megill, they didn’t take him directly from the Cubs. Instead, by way of the Twins, Megill eventually found his way to the team he belonged, and he’s shown the potential that just took a while to come to the surface.
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