With The 72nd Pick, The Mets Select Steven Matz, LHP

by Sam Page on Jun 9, 2009 11:08 PM EDT

The Mets used their second round pick (their first) to pick a left-handed high school pitcher from Ward Melville on Long Island. He was a bit of a signability guy, so it's good to see the Mets using their money aggressively, especially to get the local kid.

Here's a scouting report:

Steven Matz: The LHP out of Ward Melville High School (East Setauket, NY) has produced "average" velocity consistently ranging from 88-92, but has touched 94 and scouts believe he can get stronger and thus throw faster. His curveball is projected to be above-average due to good spin and arm speed and he's also thrown a change-up on occassion, but with little consistency. Matz will be heading to Coastal Carolina.

An article lacking citation I found also claimed his stats from this year to be: 0.47 ERA, 81 K, 11 H, 15 BB, 44 IP. Apparently his second best pitch is the curveball, but he's begun throwing his changeup and slider more often, as he's more confident in his control.

Matz, Steve LHP Ward Melville HS (via 2008cle)

My amateur scouting wisdom says good aggressive delivery and fairly clean mechanics. Post more information as you find it.

Tweet Comment 17 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Read More: 2009 mlb draft, New York Mets

Comments

This has NOTHING to do with baseball

but PLEASE, PLEASE guys, go see Moon. It just came out, it’s SOOO good, and it’s low budget, and we should reward these filmakers. Like seriously, it’s AMAZING.
Here’s a trailer.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jun 9, 2009 11:14 PM EDT reply actions

I was already planning on seing it

and what does it have to do with STEVE MATZ?

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Jun 9, 2009 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Uh...

Matz and Moon both start with “M”?

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jun 10, 2009 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Per ESPN insider:

Matz has been a late riser this spring due in part to rain in the Northeast that has made him tough for scouts to see. Matz will pitch with an average fastball now at 88-92 mph, showing plus velocity at times by touching 94, with some life down in the zone, and he has plenty of room to fill out and add velocity as he does. His curveball projects as an above-average pitch with good depth and some two-plane action, but it’s not consistent yet; the projection comes from good arm speed and his current ability to get good spin on the pitch. He’ll flash a changeup with a little tailing life but has no feel for it right now. Matz’s delivery isn’t clean; he has a very violent finish with a hard head-whack and recoil, and has a lot of drop in his drop-and-drive. A cleaner delivery and physical development should give him an average or above-average fastball, an above-average curve and perhaps average command as well. He’s committed to Coastal Carolina.

            PRESENT   FUTURE   LOW (MPH)  HIGH(MPH)
Fastball      50        55        88         94
FB Movement   45        50        --         --
Command       35        45        --         --
Control       40        50        --         --
Curveball     45        55        73         77
Changeup      40        45        75         76
Feel          35        50        --         --

by Eric Simon on Jun 9, 2009 11:19 PM EDT reply actions

Law and I

both agree about Matz’s mechanics. Matz does a lot of things I like: he takes an aggressive stride toward the plate, he rotates his hips with force in time with his arm, letting it bleed into a follow through that gives his arm some room to decelerate. He’s definitely not a “throws with his arm only” guy.

But the arm action isn’t quite clean, though it’s closer than I originally thought; he doesn’t lift his elbow above his shoulder, but he does still have some vertical scapula load thanks to his bringing his arm down low after hand separation, the sum result of which does mean pressure on the shoulder (it’s a velocity creator, but it does carry a price). Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but Matz takes such an aggressive stride and rotates his torso with such force that he’s jerking his shoulder downward at the end of his delivery. That’s the primary reason for the head bob that’s impacting his control, and it’s forcing his pitching arm toward his body at an incredible speed. That, in turn, contributes to the nasty recoil in his delivery. I looked at roughly 100 pitchers’ deliveries in preparation for this draft, and if you asked me who had the worst recoil my answer would have been Matz.

Is it fixable? If I wanted to fix it, I’d ask him to reduce his stride a tad, so his body doesn’t dip as low. This should reduce his recoil somewhat, but could come at the cost of some velocity. But it would also tighten his mechanics up some, so he might in turn gain some command. Considering his projection, it might be a gamble worth taking.

I had Matz on my list of guys I wanted in the third, so I am happy they took him, but I did think they had the opportunity to make up for the lack of a first-round pick.

by Alex Nelson on Jun 9, 2009 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks Alex

Good catch. Jake Peavy always gives me hope pitchers can succeed and stay healthy with a relatively violent recoil.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Jun 9, 2009 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Who are some of the guys you'd have taken?

I liked the Phils’ third-rounder, Hudson. Max Stassi’s still on the board.

Me, I’d probably have taken a shot at Alex Wilson at 72 — risky pick, but lots of upside. But I like the Matz pick.

by jasondg on Jun 10, 2009 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Not a fan

of Kyrell, but I’ll admit to having a bias against high school athletes with very little refinement. I like a few, but they tend to be the ones who at least have the foundation of a swing to work with. It’s not that they can’t learn any better, I just don’t want to have to bet on it with an early draft pick.

I would have loved Stassi or Wil Myers there. I would have loved David Renfroe. I would have preferred Alex Wilson or JR Murphy, both of whom went within a few picks afterward. I chose to take Ryan Buch in my shadow draft, but I’m thinking of changing that to Wilson. Draft Tracker was very screwy at the time, so I wasn’t able to make a selection until after the round had ended, and I initially didn’t want to take anyone who a later team had taken.

So what I’ll do instead is take Wilson, the highest signable player left on my board, and forgo Buch who almost certainly would have been my third round choice.

by Alex Nelson on Jun 10, 2009 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions

FWIW

Goldstein said Matz went around where he should have. I think it’s a solid single or double as a pick. If they can clean up the mechanics a bit and he adds a couple of MPH as he grows into that frame — and is able to throw it for consistent velocity — we could have something.

I’m not a huge Buch guy (what do I know, though). He walked a bunch of guys and didn’t really stand out at all in a pretty weak conference. Doesn’t have great stuff, really.

Agree, Wil Myers would have been great. Ditto Renfroe.

by jasondg on Jun 10, 2009 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Buch

Not sure where you got the idea about his stuff not being great. Has been clocked at 95, and I have his curve graded as one of the best in the class; it’s a mid-80s offering with dramatic drop. It’s a little inconsistent, but even when it’s off, it’s a good pitch. When he throws it hard, it’s really a breathtaking pitch. I ain’t crazy about his arm action either, though I see a mechanical thing he can do to improve his command.

by Alex Nelson on Jun 10, 2009 12:57 AM EDT up reply actions

I'll take your word for it--

I haven’t watched much video on Buch — here’s Keith Law’s take:

Monmouth University right-hander Ryan Buch is a three-pitch starter who has touched 94 mph recently. Typically, he throws 91 to 93 with an average curveball and some feel for a changeup. The curve is extremely inconsistent — he’ll throw a sharp one with good depth that’s above average and follow it up with a below-average, slow-roller that wouldn’t fool even a low-minors hitter. His performance to date hasn’t been great given the low level of competition in the Northeast Conference. The lack of a true plus second pitch and his below-average command is keeping Buch from rising much on draft boards, although he should go somewhere between the third and fifth rounds.

by jasondg on Jun 10, 2009 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions

He sounds reasonably interesting

I definitely noticed the recoil just glancing at the scouting videos, but nothing else immediately jumped out at me. I like him as a fit for the system, he fits into what’s becoming a large stockpile of interesting if unspectacular arms in the lower-middle parts of the Mets system.

He is committed to a school though I believe, are we sure he’s going to sign?

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on Jun 10, 2009 1:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Coastal Carolina

is not a serious commitment, and he’s a local guy. For second round money, he’ll sign.

by Alex Nelson on Jun 10, 2009 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Don't have anything to add that Sam, Alex, Eric, or Meddler hasn't already said

but Long Island Ruulz. Go Matz.

by James Kannengieser on Jun 10, 2009 1:53 AM EDT reply actions

your typical NE prep prospect

not much known about him. the hope with these types is that they have less milage on their arms, but apparently he has had injury troubles. hopefully those don’t linger. basically, they took a hs lefty in the 3rd round. it’s a crapshoot at this point.

David Eckstein: so gritty they would eat him in the south for breakfast with some butter and sprinkle cheese.

by wrightHOF on Jun 10, 2009 2:16 AM EDT reply actions