In yesterday’s start against the Washington Nationals, prospect Matthew Bowman was excellent. Bowman pitched five scoreless innings, and he allowed just two hits and one walk.
Bowman wasn’t originally scheduled to pitch, but he got the spot start in place of Jon Niese. Niese instead pitched in a simulated game in order to work on his mechanics.
The surprise start for Bowman was extra special for him since he grew up watching the Nationals and was a huge fan of Ryan Zimmerman (DiComo).
“Bowman told Ryan Zimmerman — the longest-tenured National — that he has enjoyed watching him “for a good long while now.”
“Asked about Zimmerman’s response, Bowman laughed. “He said, ‘That’s great.'”
Earlier in the game, Bowman fooled Zimmerman on a nasty breaking pitch to strike him out. Bowman struck out a total of four batters during his outing.
“I’m certainly happy that I got to come up here and perform adequately,” Bowman said.
“He was extremely impressive against a very good team,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
“These guys, like all pitchers, are starting to get in shape. They’re starting to get their stuff going and you see what they really have, and what they can really feature.”
“I can understand why he’s very much liked around here and how he showed up in this camp. From what I saw tonight, the command of his stuff, the poise, he’s a pretty impressive-looking pitcher.”
MMO ranked Bowman as the Mets 22nd overall prospect in our 2015 Top Prospect List. Here’s what our minor league analyst, Matt Mosher, had to say about the Mets promising right-hander.
“Matthew Bowman is the epitome of the type of pitcher drafted by Sandy Alderson – a durable arm that throws relatively hard and – more importantly – does not walk anyone. Bowman does both and does them well. In 2014, he spent time in Binghamton and Las Vegas logging 135 innings with a 3.20 ERA and 124 strikeouts to go with just 36 walks.”
Bowman will start the season in Triple-A, but he has a good chance of making his debut sometime this season. Bowman has succeeded in every level of the minors as his career 22-14 record and 3.07 ERA shows.
While he does not receive a lot of attention compared to other top prospects, he has the ability to develop into a solid contributor in the major leagues.
