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| Photo Credit: Anthony J. Causi |
The New York Mets have finally decided to promote top pitching prospect Steven Matz from Triple-A Las Vegas. He will start on Sunday at Citi Field in place of struggling veteran Jon Niese.
Matz, a 24-year-old native of Setauket, was drafted by the Mets in the second round (72nd overall pick) of the 2009 draft out of Ward Melville High School. He dominated Suffolk County that season by allowing two ER in 55 IP and won the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award.
After having Tommy John surgery and suffering a setback, he finally made his professional debut in 2012.
He has dominated ever since.
This season he pitched lights out in the Pacific Coast League, which is widely regarded as the worst pitching environment in professional baseball. He pitched to an incredible 2.19 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP over 90.1 IP. For comparison, Matt Harvey compiled a 3.68 ERA in that league and Zack Wheeler had a 3.93 ERA.
Matz is considered the second best LHP product in baseball behind Julio Urias.
