Mets left-handed pitching prospect, Steven Matz, had perhaps the most dominating season of any player in the Mets minors in 2014. Matz posted an excellent 2.24 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 140 innings pitched for Double-A Binghamton and Advanced-A St. Lucie. Matz also excelled in the playoffs with a phenomenal start in the Eastern League Championship Series. Matz struck out 11 batters and allowed just one run in 7.1 innings to lead the B-Mets to a title.
Following this fantastic season, expectations about Matz’s future are beginning to rise. His success has propelled him to the top of most Mets prospect rankings this winter. Both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus rate him as the Mets second best prospect behind only Noah Syndergaard.
In a recent article by Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News, Mets Vice President of Player Development, Paul DePodesta, said he believes Matz will continue to thrive once he arrives to the major leagues. DePodesta compared Matz to 2014 National League Rookie of the Year winner, Jacob deGrom.
“I am not predicting the rookie of the year in 2015 by any stretch,” DePodesta said. “But I do think there are a lot similarities between the guys.”
“This is a guy who absolutely rises to the occasion and I think that his maturity has a lot to do with it.”
Matz says that seeing deGrom’s success with New York has been inspiring to watch.
“He had called me, told me he was going up (to the major-league club) and he was getting a start,” Matz recalled in a phone interview. “They all had the TVs on his game. We had a game, but I wasn’t pitching that day, so I’d run in and keep checking on how he was doing.”
“Obviously, coming from the minor leagues, you never know what it is like, but watching him go through all that and make his debut, watch his rookie season I can relate to that. I know what kind of pitcher he is, and knowing (his) personal level, watching him throughout the season, it’s been exciting and encouraging.”
“The Mets have so many good arms in minor league system, if you don’t do well, you will get put aside,” Matz said. “That definitely gives you a little extra push, a little extra drive.”
Matz is projected to start this season Triple-A Las Vegas, but it is more than likely that he gets called-up at some point this season. While it is unrealistic to expect him to come up and duplicate deGrom’s extraordinary level of success upon his promotion, Matz certainly has the talent to shine and become a difference maker for the Mets in the near future.
