What was Matusz' velocity / stuff like today?

[Boston Dave]

Good (excellent) point! From a "value" standpoint you are going to throw a first pick (# 4 or 5) at this??? You can get a Matusz - that is doable - but was a pick that high required?

In a word, yes. Matusz was not a reach when he was drafted. Hindsight, is, of course 20\20.

[Stotle]

Matusz was an excellent pick. He has regressed. Figure out the reason for regression and fix it. No reason he should not be a #2 starter in the AL East.

[El Gordo]

Matusz was an excellent pick. He has regressed. Figure out the reason for regression and fix it. No reason he should not be a #2 starter in the AL East.

Who is Matusz' agent?

[Stotle]

Who is Matusz' agent?

CAA Sports

[Sports Guy]

Really bad command again. Too many hittable pitches.

[The B&G]

Yep, I'd send him down and make him earn his way back. Right now I'm only confident in Guthrie, Britton, and maybe Hunter for next year. Jake, if he recovers from his surgery. We need to get a good SP in the off season, at least as good as Guts.

I agree completely. A dark horse for next year's rotation might be Simon if he keeps throwing well to finish the season. Tillman and Brian desperately need to improve over the summer.

[LookitsPuck]

I'm writing off this season completely due to injuries and conditioning.

He's been great/good for the 1st inning, and then progressively gets worse. Command gets sketchy, and he leaves pitches up in the zone or walks the park. His velocity dips and the differential between his fastball and changeup ends up being negligible.

That said, I think Matusz has a very strong 2012.

[wildcard]

Does Matusz have options left? If not they're going to have to move him because he absolutely should not be guaranteed a spot on the staff next year.

Matusz has two options left.

[El Gordo]

I'm writing off this season completely due to injuries and conditioning.

He's been great/good for the 1st inning, and then progressively gets worse. Command gets sketchy, and he leaves pitches up in the zone or walks the park. His velocity dips and the differential between his fastball and changeup ends up being negligible.

That said, I think Matusz has a very strong 2012.

I am not so confident. This whole business with conditioning and command and Connor, make me think there are some head issues that he needs to address. Of the three, Arrieta, Britton and Matusz, I havetheleast confidence in him.

[NewMarketSean]

Well at least his velocity was back somewhat. He touched 93 at times yesterday.

[Frobby]

Well at least his velocity was back somewhat. He touched 93 at times yesterday.

Per Pitch f/x, Matusz topped out at 91.7, and averaged 89.2 on his 4-seamer. http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/pfx.php?month=8&day=28&year=2011&game=gid_2011_08_28_nyamlb_balmlb_2%2F&pitchSel=451085&prevGame=gid_2011_08_28_nyamlb_balmlb_2%2F&prevDate=828

Honestly, though, velocity isn't the issue now. His changeup wasn't very effective yesterday and he couldn't throw his curve ball for a strike.

[O-The-Memories]

Well at least his velocity was back somewhat. He touched 93 at times yesterday.

When you overthrow, the ball rises. Yesterday his fastball was rising right into the bats of the Yankees. He is, without question, the biggest disappointment on the team. Matusz has szucked as of late. Let's just hope he clears the wax out of his ears and listens to the advice of pitching coaches from now on. He just looks out of shape out there, and there's no excuse for that. It used to bother me about Ponson as well. You get paid a lot of money to play baseball, and when you've got the immense talent that Matusz has it makes me really upset to see him just look horrendous out there.

[stomperspc]

Matusz needs to spend this off season working with a pitching coach on ironing out his mechanics. I am far from a pitching expert, but it seems to me that relatively small tweaks in his mechanics would help keep his velocity up consistently and more importantly, improve his fastball command.

He isn't necessarily aiming the ball, but his follow through and finish come off like he is "guiding" the ball to a certain extent and not finishing completely. It is like he’s is trying to hit the outside corner with a fastball, but instead of just being able to let it go and hit the corner, he tries to guide it, doesn't finish completely, and the ball ends up some where over the plate. That could also be part of the velocity issue as his motion might not be as smooth and free as it needs to be to maximize his velocity.

I'm still not completely worried about Matusz or convinced he is a bust. His off speed stuff is still too good. His command isn't terrible in the sense that he does an okay job throwing strikes. He just isn't anywhere near as precise within the strike zone as he should be. I do believe that's fixable. He needs to get better at locating his fastball for strikes and not leaving the ball over the plate and up. When he can do that on a more regular basis, I think the walks will go down because he'll know he can throw his fastball for strikes without it getting crushed more often than not like it is now. Whether he can do it is a different story, but I think there is still plenty of reason to believe he can be a good major league pitcher. He got pretty good results for 5+ innings last night and still didn’t have good command.

[Say O!]

Based on pitch f/X, Matusz's velocity seemed OK, with avg velocity of 89.2mph and max speed of 91.7mph.

Based on linear weights, Matusz got in trouble with his change-up, which used to be his most effective pitch. With an average speed of 82.65mph, I just don't think there is enough separation in velocity right now b/w his fastball and change-up.