Impressions of Brian Matusz

[Hank Scorpio]

1. Better fastball than I expected. Better command velocity than I expected, and not afraid to pitch inside with it.

2. Two different changeups, both of which are very impressive. He will get a lot of swings and misses there once his fastball confidence is there.

3. Very heady and poised from the stretch. Didn't see much of a move, but he didn't forget about any runners, either.

4. Didn't see as much of his breaking stuff, but his slider is very similar to his changeup and that's gonna pose a problem for the opposition.

5. Confident enough to throw any pitch in any count. I can't stress how rare and important this is. Once he gets a little "ML" confidence in his fastball, we'll really be able to see what we've got.

I was very impressed despite the number of pitches. He knows what he's doing and he's not timid.

It's nice to see.

[shorty122dude]

quite simply, dont send him back down. Berken should be packing up his stuff by now.

[Shopay]

1. Better fastball than I expected. Better command velocity than I expected, and not afraid to pitch inside with it.

2. Two different changeups, both of which are very impressive. He will get a lot of swings and misses there once his fastball confidence is there.

3. Very heady and poised from the stretch. Didn't see much of a move, but he didn't forget about any runners, either.

4. Didn't see as much of his breaking stuff, but his slider is very similar to his changeup and that's gonna pose a problem for the opposition.

5. Confident enough to throw any pitch in any count. I can't stress how rare and important this is. Once he gets a little "ML" confidence in his fastball, we'll really be able to see what we've got.

I was very impressed despite the number of pitches. He knows what he's doing and he's not timid.

It's nice to see.

Agree with all the above. The Kid is "flat out" a pitcher. Definitely going to win a lot of games in Orange and Black.

[markpolis]

The Brian Matusz era has begun. :2yay-thumb:

[Dr. FLK]

His stuff is nasty (especially his changeups). His breaking balls weren't great tonight. But - when mixed in with his other stuff - they catch the hitter by surprise. I don't think any hitter saw his breaking balls coming. He really pitches "smart", and he changes speed very well. We gots a good one...

[itsernst]

I was listening to Detroit announcers on XM today and they were raving about his offspeed pitches. Openly saying they were making Detroit hitters look foolish. Good to hear.

[TyCobb]

I love how he works both sides of the plate.

[shorty122dude]

I'd love to see what happens when he gets everything working for him. The tigers are a good hitting team and Matusz held his own. Thorne and Martinez were talking about how he pitched like he's been pitching in the majors for awhile. great compliment to get in your debut.

[allstar1579]

1. Better fastball than I expected. Better command velocity than I expected, and not afraid to pitch inside with it.

2. Two different changeups, both of which are very impressive. He will get a lot of swings and misses there once his fastball confidence is there.

3. Very heady and poised from the stretch. Didn't see much of a move, but he didn't forget about any runners, either.

4. Didn't see as much of his breaking stuff, but his slider is very similar to his changeup and that's gonna pose a problem for the opposition.

5. Confident enough to throw any pitch in any count. I can't stress how rare and important this is. Once he gets a little "ML" confidence in his fastball, we'll really be able to see what we've got.

I was very impressed despite the number of pitches. He knows what he's doing and he's not timid.

It's nice to see.

He's only got one changeup, but he's got a curve and a slider to go with the fastball. He did a great job keeping the fastball down and away and getting ahead of hitters from the little I saw. I love that confidence you talked about, I wrote about it in my write up of him in the tracker because it just amazed me, the funny thing is though, it's not like some arrogant confidence, it's just calm and collected all the time.

The slider is really similar to his curve, so much so that I thought he had two different curveballs until I heard him talk about his curve and slider. The curve is loopier, and the slider has a tight, hard break to it.

[QBsILLEST1]

Im so much happier we drafted Matusz rather than Smoak. Its so nice not to have to worry about hearing anyone else complain that we took Matusz over Smoak. Matusz has been flat out dominant this entire year, even into the ML....Very good. And his transition seemed much easier so far than Tillmans as most of us expected....

[emmett16]

This is the most exciting debut so far! He looks awesome - it's mind boggling to think he is going to get better and better. Wow - can't believe that was his first game at this level. Next year is going to be Awesome!!!

[Dr. FLK]

He's only got one changeup, but he's got a curve and a slider to go with the fastball. He did a great job keeping the fastball down and away and getting ahead of hitters from the little I saw. I love that confidence you talked about, I wrote about it in my write up of him in the tracker because it just amazed me, the funny thing is though, it's not like some arrogant confidence, it's just calm and collected all the time.

Apparently he told DT prior to the game that he has 2...at least that's what Thorne said.

[Hank Scorpio]

He's only got one changeup, but he's got a curve and a slider to go with the fastball. He did a great job keeping the fastball down and away and getting ahead of hitters from the little I saw. I love that confidence you talked about, I wrote about it in my write up of him in the tracker because it just amazed me, the funny thing is though, it's not like some arrogant confidence, it's just calm and collected all the time.

I think I get the slider & his changeup mixed up a bit, but I swore I saw a circle change & a straight change tonight.

Either way, both pitches looked to be very effective.

Mostly I was impressed by his fastball command and ability to throw it inside to righties. He definitely knows how to pitch.

[Three Run Homer]

I was impressed by all of his pitches. The announcers said that Matusz didn't think his curveball was "on" today, but he threw some mighty nice ones in his last inning. He was able to keep his fastball low and throw it to either side of the plate, and his velocity was good--it would have been even more effective if the umpire had called the low strike more consistently. Of course his changeup is outstanding.

He should be up for good. He's clearly ready for the majors--not ready to be an ace yet, but ready to learn by facing the best. Like Bedard, he'll have to learn how to put hitters away to improve his pitch efficiency, but once he does that, watch out.

[Yard Bird]

Wow, wow, wow. I am so excited to be an O's fan after watching this kid pitch tonight.

The future is bright, my friends.