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| Photo Credit: Mets Blog |
Way back in 2009, Steve Matz made a name for himself when he was selected with the 72nd overall pick by the New York Mets out of Ward Melville HS. After waiting until the very last minute of the negotiation window (August 15th midnight), Matz came to terms on an $800,000 contract which convinced him not to attend Coastal Carolina.
At the time, I was pretty surprised the Mets took Matz that early. Even though he dominated the best competition in Suffolk County (two earned runs in 55 innings) and hit 94 mph at the Area Code games, it was known that he had elbow issues. Also, I hadn’t heard much buzz about him and I was very in tune with the chatter at the time. Everyone knew Marcus Stroman was a lock to go, possibly Kyle Hansen, Anthony Italiano, Adam Brown and TJ Pecoraro. The question surrounding Matz was whether his elbow was a ticking time bomb.
Sure enough, he tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery later that season. His recovery did not go smooth and ultimately missed 2010 and 2011. At that point, some in the industry questioned whether he would regain his form. He was not mentioned on prospect rankings and I even thought he might’ve lost the desire to play and head to college.
Those suspicions were put to rest in 2012 when he tossed 29 dominant innings to the tune of 1.55 ERA and 34 strikeouts in Rookie Ball for Kingston. Obviously, a small sample size but it was clear that accumulating innings was his only deterrent from a rapid ascension.
2013 was even better, as he led the Savannah Sand Gnats to a division title with a 2.62 ERA over 106 innings. He told Marc Carig of Newsday, “It felt awesome to go out every sixth day and compete.”
Because of his performance, it made the Mets decision to put him on the 40-man roster much easier. PEr MLB rules, high school draftees must be protected after five years in the organization. Had he been injured in 2013, the decision would’ve been much more difficult.
This year he can possibly reach Double-A, with a 2015 promotion in sight. Rival scouts are bullish on his production and feel that he is back to being viewed a top prospect.
He is a very reserved kid. The public saw that during his press conference at Citi Field in 2009 and I noticed it while playing with him in the Suffolk-Nassau All Star Game. I was trying to get him to give some insight on whether he was going to sign. Even with his peers he wouldn’t show his cards. He gave me the company line about taking a wait-and-see approach.
I think he will end up being a solid Major Leaguer. He doesn’t have fringe stuff, he’s low 90s with great movement. As Terry Collins likes to say, “his stuff plays here”.
