MAJORING ON THE
MINORS: TOP 30 PROSPECTS – #2 STEVEN MATZ - VOL.29 – Tom Brennan
I’m doing my Top 30 Prospects articles
a bit differently – in 2 lists:
·
A
top 10 list of lower minors guys who likely won’t show up until 2017 or later. Already done. See list at end of this
article.
·
Followed
by my top 20 list of guys who are closing in on the big leagues. Guys who could help in the near future or be
trade bait.
Here is the list so
far:
20.
Daniel Muno
|
19.
Michael Fulmer
|
18.
Miller Diaz
|
17.
Dario Alvarez
|
16.
Jayce Boyd
|
15.
Rob Whalen
|
14.
Hansel Robles
|
13.
Gabriel Ynoa
|
12.
Gavin Cecchini
|
11.
Jack Leathersich
|
10.
Cory Mazzoni
|
9.
Cesar Puello
|
8.
Matt Bowman
|
7.
Akeel Morris
|
6.
Matt Reynolds
|
5.
Brandon Nimmo
|
4.
Kevin Plawecki
|
3.
Dilson Herrera
|
Moving on up to my
prospect selection #2:
STEVEN MATZ
What one stat
impresses me the most about Steve Matz? Only 8 homers allowed in about 300
innings. As a lefty dealing mostly to righty batters. REALLY incredible.
Career
ERA in the low 2's, more than a K per inning. Amazing progress for a guy who went
through a grueling Tommy John surgery rehab period. One often wondered if
he'd ever fully recover. Boy, has he ever. It gives a fan hope that a guy that
was highly regarded not too long ago, Luis Mateo, will follow suit in 2015.
Matz
can touch the upper 90s, has improved his secondary pitches, and on earlier Met
teams shorter and weaker on pitching, would likely be in the opening day
rotation. Think briefly back to Sean Marcum, for example. Matz is in the opening
day rotation over a Sean Marcum type in a heartbeat.
But
in 2015, we'll most likely need to be patient for Super 2 to pass for him to be
called up. One might say, "Well, he hasn't even pitched in AAA yet.”
That
is because they wanted Steve to do what he does best, dominate in playoff
games, which he did for the second straight year, a man against boys. In
2013 and 2014, in 4 starts, 2-0, 1.44, 25 innings, 13 hits, 33 Ks. A little bit of Koufax there. And what could be better than a pitcher who has
proven to be able to dominate in playoff games.
Steve
Matz will be another of the 3 to 5 Mets starters by 2016 of the type who’d be considered many
other teams’ best starter. Exciting pitching times truly lay just ahead
for the Mets, with the highly competitive 6'2", 200, 23 year old Matz as
part of that ovation rotation.
Not
bad for a local kid from Ward Melville HS in Setauket, Long Island, where my
niece and nephew attended HS a few years before Matz.
I
am expecting a homegrown All Star soon in Steve. He's my #2 prospect
behind Thor. Mr. Syndergaard won my #1
by a flip of the coin over Matz. Take your pick. Both will be a blast to watch.
MY
TOP 10 LOWER MINORS LIST:
#
1 - Marcos Molina
#2
– Michael Conforto
#3
– Amed Rosario
#4
– Dominic Smith
#5 - Jhoan Urena
#6
– Vicente Lupo
#7
– Wuilmer Becerra
#8
– Luis Guillorme
#9 - Casey Meisner
#10 - Milton Ramos
2 comments:
Great article on Matz in Daily News today - check it out:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/meet-matz-mets-pitching-prospect-line-article-1.2102556
His future is tied at the hip to that of Jon Niese. If Alderson found a taker for Niese it would hasten Matz' timetable to the majors.
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