Stat Line: 7.2 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 6 K, 3 BB
Yesterday afternoon, Mets fans excitedly tuned in to watch the much anticipated Major League debut for Long Island native and top prospect left-handed pitcher Steven Matz. In this article, I will touch upon the quality of movement within Matz pitches, high level of athleticism and inconsistency in command.
Positives
Repertoire of Pitches: A
Matz showed his strong 94 to 96 mph fastball that had a little two-seam run at times along with a quality 85 mph changeup. Matz’ most impressive pitch was his sharp 11 to 5 curveball which accounted for almost 25% of his pitches thrown yesterday.
In Joey Votto’s third and sixth inning at-bats, Votto took extremely uncomfortable swings against Matz’s curveball. Later in the sixth inning, Todd Frazier struck out with a terrible swing and miss against a Matz curveball. These defensive swings from two of the better hitters in the National League show that they were having difficulty picking up the pitch out of Matz delivery. Matz ability to find this “out” pitch in his first outing will help the young lefty get out of troublesome innings and will translate to more consistent success in the second half of this season.
Athleticism: A+
Matz success with the bat was well documented during the broadcast as he was 3-for-3 with 4 RBI but his athleticism on the mound was equally as excellent. In the third inning, Billy Hamilton leadoff with a push bunt attempt down the first baseline but Matz quickly and calmly fielded the baseball and got the out at first base. The following inning, Matz fielded a ground ball of the bat of Brayan Pena and was able to fluidly turn an inning ending double play.
One reason behind his successful defense can be attributed to his fluid and effortless pitching motion which allows Matz to finish in a balanced fielding position rather than many other MLB pitchers that tend to fall over towards their glove side.
Moxie: A-
After giving up early home runs to both Brandon Phillips and Frazier, Matz didn’t shy away from his fastball. That confidence or strong moxie is an attribute that cannot be taught and will help him down the stretch in September and October when hitters are typically more locked in or focused.
Negatives
Pitch Command: B
Simply, Matz did look a bit erratic at times with his fastball, missing on the inside corner when the catcher was set up on the outside corner. Matz also missed up in the zone with his curveball at times which if that continues, will account for more hard hit balls in future outings. Additionally, Matz did put himself into three ball counts on six of the 29 Reds plate appearances.
I will give him a pass on this for now as I suspect this can be attributed to the jitters and excitement of his first MLB start in front of his entire family and friends.
Stat of the Day
ESPN Stats & Info tweets: The Mets’ Steven Matz on Sunday became the first pitcher to record 4 RBI in his MLB debut.
Follow Chris Zaccherio on Twitter @ziography for more Mets pitching insight that goes beyond statistics.
