New York Mets left handed starter Steven Matz has already arrived at the team’s Spring Training Complex at Port St Lucie, Florida and had a throwing session this past Thursday.
After making his big league debut last season, posting a 2.27 ERA in six regular season starts, the 24-year old lefty is hoping to enjoy his first full season in the majors in 2016 without any further health issues.
“Last year, I got hurt a couple of times,” Matz explained to Marc Carig of Newsday. ” I don’t think it was because of a lack of work. I don’t think I’ll ever get hurt because of that. I just think it was a freak thing so I educated myself a little bit in the areas that I can improve on.”
In another interview with Anthony McCarron of the Daily News, Matz explained how his experience in the World Series will help him pitch in what should be a season full of pressure and high expectations.
“You’re not going to pitch in a bigger game than the World Series,” Matz said. “Just to have that experience and taste that atmosphere, it would definitely help anybody.”
Keith Law of ESPN.com recently ranked Matz, who maintains his rookie eligibility, as the 37th best prospect in baseball in his Top 100.
“Matz will pitch at 92-96 mph and has a plus changeup with outstanding arm speed that makes his fastball more effective even when he works up with it; almost two-thirds of his swings and misses in the majors last year came on fastballs, about as positive a sign for his future as I could throw at you.”
Matz has yet to pitch more than 150 innings in a season since being drafted in 2009. But if the native Long Islander can stay healthy this year, there’s no doubt that he will be a significant component of the team’s exciting young rotation especially as the lone left-hander.
“I don’t want to speak for the rest of the starters, but I’m pretty excited about what the team can do, from the pitching staff to the lineup. I’m just excited for the year.”
