 |
| pic by Allen Greene |
Steven was a local boy out of Melville High School that was
the Mets first pick (second round – 72nd overall) in the 2009 draft.
Things just never went right from the beginning. He eventually had Tommy John
Surgery and did start last year where he posted 6-G, 2-1, 1.55, 29.0-IP, 34-K
(17-BB) for a very bad Kingsport team. It was at that point that the arm
tightened up again and flags went up. Matz was shut down, never to be seen
again that season.
I had talked to him on the phone in the off-season and he
told me that everything was back on course, but they all say that, don’t they?
The only way we would find out what shape he was in was to see him pitch and,
low and behold, guess who shows up at the press luncheon in Savannah?
This was a good time to talk to Steven. He’s got three
outings in the books and stats out at: 1-0, 1.29, 14.0-IP, 18-K, 4-B. He was
quite impressed and very proud of the fact that he has reduced his BB/9 from
5.28 in 2012 to a current 2.57. He smiled (and none of these kids smile very
easily… I think they are instructed to stay this detached) broadly and proudly
when I brought this up. I told him that catcher Jeff Glenn had told me that he
was particularly impressed with his zone pounding and was this a direct result
of control of his fastball. “Yes,” said Matz. “It’s all command.”
I asked him the same first question I ask all the bonus boys…
what was the first thing he bought when he cashed the bonus check. It was a
truck, which, by the way, seems to be the answer 75% of the time.
Matz confirmed he’s currently throwing a two-seam, a
four-seam, a change-up, and what he calls a ‘slurve’. He had played around with
a slider for a season, but has now incorporated it into his previous “primary
secondary’ pitch, his curve. He also confirmed that Coach Frank Viola currently has him throwing about 75%
fastballs, but that might be changing as the season gets longer and hotter.
A lot of readers wanted to know what he did in the
off-season to prevent his problems from surfacing again. All those questions
led to one answer, an off-season working out with Pedro
Beato, Cam Maron, and Zack Dotson at the Professional Athletic Performance
Center, in Garden City, New York (http://www.professionalperformance.net/).
Matz confirmed he was placed on a team-approved series of exercises and
strength- growing measures all designed to add muscle to an arm that needs to
support past injuries.
I asked him what he was currently working on. “My breaking
pitch”, said Matz. “And tempo.”
We reminisced about his signing day when he had that great
picture taken with his parents at Shea Stadium, what it would be like to
someday pitch in Queens (“a lifelong dream”), the fact that he missed pitching
in Brooklyn (“yeah, a bummer”), and which Mets team was his favorite (“the one
that went to the Subway Series’, though it would have been nice if we won”).
In closing, no one has ever questioned Matz’ talent. This
kid can haul back and pound the zone. Sadly, shit happens and pitchers get
injured and all the Mets, and Matz, can
do here is do everything they can to prevent a recurrence of these injuries.
Pitchers, even talented ones, only get so many chances. Matz
is one of those special kids that deserves our attention.
6 comments:
So essentially Matz would be a college junior right now if he didnt sign out of hs, so hes right on schedule and is almost like getting another 1st rd pick to take a front line college lefty in this years draft. Assuming his injuries are behind him, we could be looking at another potential front line power pitcher to include with the rest of them, except Matz is a lefty, which makes him even more special. I think he spends the majority of this season with Frankie V and get some innings in St Lucie before they shut him down. I think he's on the 2015 plan with Syndergaard as the next wave, after Wheeler & Montero.
you got it...
Matz, if he remains healthy, could end up as the top prospect in the organization. Ahead of Sybdergaard, Nimmo, and Fulmer.
Starters who throw mid nineties are rare and what luck the Nets would have if he actually pans out.
Any idea how many ip he is allowed this yer? They can't be insanely conservative if only because I believe he is on 40 man this fall so his clock to queens has to be somewhat fast tracked no?
In his case, it's all about the arm
I'm sure he will be on a pitch count, but the immediate concern will be if he can first last into the 10-15 outing area without experiencing any arm pain or discomfort.
I asked him if he had any pain and he said no.
If he had any, I'd be the last person he would tell.
Post a Comment