Top 2008 Draft Prospects: College LHSP Brian Matusz

[Greg Pappas]

Key: (X) is their age at the time of the 2008 Draft

2. Brian Matusz {College LHSP} (21). Matusz (pronounced MAT-is) is one of those pitchers that just has ML'er written all over him. The University of San Diego junior stands 6' 4 and weighs in at 195 lbs. He employs a sweet combination of crafty lefty with a low nineties fastball and consistantly throws three quality pitches for strikes. He will pitch from 87-92 and can hit 94 when necessary, but it's his assortment of high-grade secondary stuff that has scouts excited about his future. His curve and change are both outstanding, and his athleticism and easy arm action plants him squarely in line to be a high first-round selection.

Because he doesn't necessarily profile as a true #1 ace, Matusz doesn't get the drools from the scouts as last year's #1 David Price had, but in time Matusz may prove to be just as good.

Greg's Grade (1-100) = 88

Next up> High School 1B Eric Hosmer.

[wayne25]

Thanks for getting this stuff on the board, I really appreciat it. With this type of info available the reaction on draft day is going to be something to behold. the opinions are going to vary, and be mightly diverse. As for Matusz, he looks like a very good prospect. The fact that no one I've read seems to call him a lock down ACE, says i don't draft him at #4. The only pitcher I want a #4 is a Verlander type, that is uniformily looked at as a #1. Then you can take your chances on the health factor. But with alot of good bats available and our dearth of said Bats down on the farm, I pass on Matusz.

[WebLink21]

Wow, good stuff here. Appreciate you taking the time. I love the way you guys have the prospects for the past 2 drafts in their own thread. Makes it so easy to follow. Once the season starts, you should try to link to their stats the way you link to the milb.com pages for the prospects. Thanks again.

[Greg Pappas]

Thanks to you both for the kind words...

Matusz is an exceptional pitcher and while not the prototypical 95+ type, he may have the best career among the draft choices available this year. He is the real deal.

[WebLink21]

Last night Brian Matusz pitched against San Diego State. Doesn't look like he did that great. His team lost 10-2 and he got the L. Final stats were:

4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO

[rhall]

San Diego              IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF-----------------------------------------------Matusz, Brian.......  8.0  3  1  1  2 16 28 30  vs. Harvard

Above is Matusz's last start. The 16 strikeouts are a school record.

This brings his season totals to:

Player                 ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR   AB B/Avg   WP HBP  BK  SFA SHA17 Matusz, Brian....  2.27   4-1     6   5   1   1/0    0  35.2  26  10   9  12  55   4   1   2  131  .198    3   2   0    1   0

[wayne25]

San Diego              IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF-----------------------------------------------Matusz, Brian.......  8.0  3  1  1  2 16 28 30  vs. Harvard

Above is Matusz's last start. The 16 strikeouts are a school record.

This brings his season totals to:

Player                 ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR   AB B/Avg   WP HBP  BK  SFA SHA17 Matusz, Brian....  2.27   4-1     6   5   1   1/0    0  35.2  26  10   9  12  55   4   1   2  131  .198    3   2   0    1   0

Really like seeing a sub .200 BA/against. At # 4 overall, don't want a pitcher; every toss is likely to be his last. Not many position players in the top 10 have gone out of baseball with career ending injuries

[rhall]

Really like seeing a sub .200 BA/against. At # 4 overall, don't want a pitcher; every toss is likely to be his last. Not many position players in the top 10 have gone out of baseball with career ending injuries

I'm not sure if I really want a pitcher for the O's at #4 either, but if Alvarez and Beckham are both gone, I wouldn't be upset if either Crow or Matusz were chosen. I've been very impressed with these guys. Smoak could be the popular pick there, but a persuasive argument could be made for all three guys.