MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Falvey believes a meteoric rise this season elevating Minnesota Twins prospect Zebby Matthews from High-A Cedar Rapids to the major leagues is the result of a good partnership between amateur scouting, player development and the player, along with plenty of outstanding results.
A day ahead of Matthews making his major-league debut against the Kansas City Royals, the Twins’ president of baseball operations lauded the relationship between his heralded young pitcher and minor-league coaches for creating an open learning environment.
After previously helping Matthews, MLB.com’s No. 98-ranked prospect, improve his fastball velocity since he was drafted in 2022, the team’s pitching department worked with the eighth-round draft pick in January on his secondary pitches.
Experimenting with different grips, Matthews suggested to his coaches that he wanted to try throwing his secondary pitches with more depth. He quickly discovered he was not only more comfortable throwing the altered pitches, but he also began having success with them.
Eight months later, Matthews finds himself about to play for his fourth team within the organization this season.
“It’s everybody’s dream,” Matthews said. “But to go from A-ball to here, it’s definitely been a journey — a lot of stops along the way. I don’t really know if I thought it was possible.”
Zebby Matthews retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced in the @StPaulSaints win💥
5 IP / 2 H / 1 R / 1 BB / 5 K
The RHP touched 97.5 mph on the day and now has 114 strikeouts to only 7 walks on the season⛽️#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/ydtR3rqYIg
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) August 9, 2024
An outstanding second professional season and a vacancy in the rotation created by Joe Ryan’s injury made the final leap in a rapid ascent possible.
A strike-thrower since he arrived at West Carolina University in 2020, Matthews doesn’t walk batters. Between college and the minors, he’s issued 52 free passes while striking out 443 in 388 2/3 innings. He’s been even better as a pro, walking only 22 in 205 1/3 innings since the Twins used the 234th pick to select him.
When they drafted him, the Twins saw the potential for a velocity increase and Matthews has added 3 miles per hour, now touching 97 mph. They hoped he could improve upon a cutter and slider to generate more swings and misses. Working at a pre-spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla. in January, the group took what turned out to be a huge step.
“We didn’t think his breaking ball was particularly good, either of the two,” Falvey said. “Let’s try this grip and not be afraid to fail and try something else. Zebby leaned into that. … He suggested going with a little more depth, and boom, all of a sudden these things start to click together.”
Instantly, Matthews started missing bats.
He followed up a solid 2023 professional debut in which he struck out 112 and posted a 3.84 ERA in 105 1/3 innings by striking out more hitters and walking even fewer.
In four starts at Cedar Rapids, Matthews struck out 28 and walked none in 22 1/3 innings. Promoted to Double-A Wichita in May, Matthews didn’t walk a batter in his first two starts. Even after he did finally walk a batter, Matthews continued to excel. He had a 1.95 ERA in 55 1/3 innings there, striking out 63 and walking six, which pushed him to Triple-A St. Paul in mid-July.
Matthews credits the pitch mix for playing a big role in his success.
“Working with a lot of the coaches and staff here, we did a lot of pitch design stuff,” Matthews said. “Having the confidence in my pitches now this year has been a big help. Last year we kept tinkering with stuff, trying to find stuff that works, and when we got to spring training this year we made some adjustments and found some stuff that works. Having the confidence in that has been a big piece.”
Even though Matthews has struggled at St. Paul with a 5.68 ERA in 19 innings, his major-league teammates are impressed.
“Really good changeup,” infielder Kyle Farmer said. “Cutter was good into lefties. I like the way he elevates. He throws a lot of strikes, which is a good and kind of a bad thing I guess you could say. I’d like to see him work on his sinker into righties. But he throws hard.”
“He has the composure on the mound and doesn’t walk too many guys,” reliever Justin Topa said. “It’ll be fun to see him throw up here.”
Matthews estimates 20 friends and family will attend Tuesday’s game. He received the news when Triple-A manager Toby Gardenhire called a team meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss the team’s travel plans to Indianapolis.
“I kind of got the feeling something was up,” Matthews said. “I just looked around — I was getting ready to throw a bullpen — and then he explained all the travel plans, going to Indianapolis for the week, and then he said I’m not going with the team. I have to come here to Target Field. It was definitely special hearing that.”
(Photo of Zebby Matthews from 2023: Andrew Woolley / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)
