Mets RHP Sam McWilliams signed a one-year deal with the team over the offseason after impressing many in his time at the Tampa Bay Rays’ alternate site during the 2020 season.
He spoke to reporters on Zoom from spring training and discussed how he came to signing with the Mets despite there not being much data out there on him.
“Obviously a unique year, weird year, lot of firsts going on,” McWilliams said. “Heading into the winter I really had no idea what to expect. All I had to go on was the video from the alternate site and the team sharing, and I really didn’t even know what teams had access to our video or our data. So going in, me and my agent just had my stuff on file and as far as my trackman reports and then a little bit of video from some different angles. Just tried to get out as much as possible, and it turned in to what it did.”
The 25-year-old was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft, and has bounced around over his six-year career in the minors. He went 1-6 with an 8.18 ERA in Triple-A with the Durham Bulls in 2019, but also went 6-3 with a 2.05 ERA in Double-A with the Montgomery Biscuits.
His delivery changes have helped him improve over the past year, as the 6’7″ pitcher talked about what he’s focused on to get better.
“It was definitely a long progression, probably starting after the 2019 season or maybe even during the 2019 season,” McWilliams said. “If I had to pick one or two things, really the main focus was like I’ve talked about before, staying behind the fastball , behind the four-seam, getting that vertical movement. Really just the feel in general with that. Trying to be athletic and not think to much during the delivery. A lot of guys like, I know especially myself, can get caught up in all the little moving parts, and really just make it simple for me, nice and smooth.”
McWilliams was pleased that his hard work paid off when coaches began to notice his improvements last season at spring training.
“The confidence just skyrocketed,” McWilliams said. “Seeing all the work that I put in, and then the feedback I got from it as soon as I got to spring 2020. It was pretty big moment for me, definitely. I put in all the work and it was nice to see it come to fruition.”
The Mets pitching rotation has yet to be finalized for the regular season, but McWilliams expects to come out of the bullpen this season. He’s been a starter for most of his minor league career, but began to transition to the bullpen during the 2020 season.
“I think moving to the bullpen in 2020 at least at the alternate site and in spring training,” McWilliams said. “I think mentally coming in out of the bullpen has helped me get back to being a little more aggressive, and kind of fill up the strike zone, challenging guys. I think that will definitely carry over into the starting role. Just pounding the zone, not being afraid to throw strikes, and letting myself play.”