TJ Stuff: Friday Frenzy
Jack Leiter, Tylor Megill, Ryan Pepiot
Let’s keep on celebrating Opening Day Weekend!
Welcome to “TJ Stuff”, a series which aims to highlight any intriguing MLB players and performances.
Jack Leiter
We got a glimpse of the changes Jack Leiter made over the winter this Spring and it was awesome to see them come to fruition in his 2025 debut as he looked like a completely new pitcher.
His new sinker and changeup were the talk of the town this Spring and Leiter did not shy away from using them yesterday. His sinker usage was encouraging to see as he tossed the offering 28% of the time with it being his primary fastball vs LHH. His changeup didn’t return the best results, but the shape was consistent and strong. This is a massive step from last season, in particular his comfortability for throwing it against LHH. He failed to locate well, but that should hopefully improve with practice.
The expanding of his arsenal came with the benefit of not needing to rely on his 4-Seam and slider at all times. Leiter was essentially a 2-trick pony without consistent way to tackle both RHH and LHH. Compared to 2024, Letier slashed his 4-Seam usage nearly in half and didn’t throw a single slider vs LHH yesterday. Both his sinker and kick changeup have the characteristics to be effective offerings against LHH while also being additionally weapons vs righties to catch them off guard.
Across the board, all 5 of his pitches graded out as “plus” offering according to tjStuff+ and makes me very intrigued to see how Leiter navigates this season. He has plenty of options to work with, including massive whiff generating options in his fastball and slider. The addition of his sinker and changeup greatly improves his prospects against LHH and gives him one of the most complete arsenals in MLB. His 2025 debut truly felt like the start of something big.
Tylor Megill
Sometimes less is more. Tylor Megill exhibited that to a tee yesterday as he effectively sliced his arsenal in half, trimming down his wide array of offerings to just 3 as he leaned on his 4-Seam, sinker, and slider en route a strong start against Houston.
Yesterday, we saw a stripped back version of Megill. His fastball usage stayed steady at ~50%, while his slider and sinker filled in the most of the remaining usage. This was a notable change because last season you could witness a Tylor Megill start in which he tossed upwards of 8 pitches. While it was a sight to behold, he showed a lot of inconsistencies with his arsenal as he struggled to hit his spots.
With a simpler arsenal, Megill focused on refining his pitch shapes. His fastball exhibited more ride and had tighter movement clustering, boosting its tjStuff+ grade for 104 to 113. His slider drastically changed as it transformed into a “death ball” shape with more drop while maintaining its limited horizontal movement. This version of his slider looks the like the best he has ever thrown before!
Megill has always been a stuff darling. His elite extension (+7.0 ft) and seemingly never-ending arsenal always oozed potential. This simpler version of Megill may not be as eye-catching, but he looked really good. He is an arm to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Ryan Pepiot
Ryan Pepiot started his 2025 on high note as he limited the Rockies to just 1 ER over 6.0 IP as he racked up 8 K. It was an encouraging start as it seems like Pepiot has a new way to tackle LHH.
Pepiot has always had an elite changeup, and after joining the Rays, his 4-Seam developed into one of the best whiffs generating fastballs in MLB. Despite the excellent metrics and shapes on both offerings, Pepiot had one large flaw: damage to LHH. Last season he allowed 10 HR and a poor 0.371 xwOBACON vs LHH. He simply couldn’t neutralize LHH.
Yesterday, we saw Pepiot greatly increase his cutter usage against lefties, launching it from 8.8% in 2024 to 29.0%. The shape of his cutter sits squarely between his slider and 4-Seam, as it exhibits minimal cutting action with ~14” of iVB. From the data, it seems like this cutter may be the key for Pepiot to stump LHH. It returned strong results last season, and this increased usage it intriguing.
With the Rays move to George M. Steinbrenner Field, home runs have become more of a concern than ever before. Changes like Pepiot’s cutter usage are simple adjustments that may pay large dividends quickly.
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