FORT MYERS, Fla. — There was a little moment of awe for Zebby Matthews last August, when, after a meteoric rise through the Twins’ farm system, he saw Royals star Salvador Perez’s name in the opposing lineup before his major league debut.
“I’m like, ‘I’ve watched this guy play for 15 years,’” Matthews said. “It’s nuts.”
Matthews began last season at Single-A Cedar Rapids. A trip to Double-A Wichita preceded a quick stint in Triple-A before he debuted for Minnesota in August. The whole year was a whirlwind for Matthews, 24. But after sprinting through the minors, there’s plenty left for him to prove.
“It was definitely surreal to go from where I was to debut last year,” Matthews, who threw two scoreless innings and touched 97 mph on Saturday in the Twins’ 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves in the spring opener at Hammond Stadium, said. “It was awesome, but it’s just the beginning. The job doesn’t stop.”
In his first taste of the majors, Matthews posted a 6.69 ERA. The starter’s command wasn’t quite as sharp in the majors after walking just seven batters in 97 minor league innings, and he was capped at five innings, not working past that point in any of his nine starts.
“I just want to show them that I can pitch at this level,” Matthews said. “Last year in the big leagues, I had a lot of up-and-down starts, some good, some really bad. Just to show them that I belong, I can do this. I can make a career out of it.”
Matthews spent the offseason working on his changeup, which he is trying to establish as another option to throw to lefties. Throughout last year, he said he was trying to get comfortable throwing the pitch in the zone or in games but he could never get it just right. Now, he thinks he’s trending in the right direction with the pitch.
“I feel bad for my catch play partner I had this offseason,” Matthews said. “I was tearing him up with some changeups.”
It was an offseason of trial and error but finally, about two weeks before heading down to Fort Myers, he settled on a grip and started getting more comfortable. Early word from Trackman data, and teammates and coaches that have seen it, he said, have been positive as he works towards getting it where he needs it to be.
While Matthews seems likely to begin the year at Triple-A — where he made just four starts last year — he’ll serve as an important depth option for the Twins while he continues to develop.
“Zebby is a good-looking, young, horse of a man,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He put himself in a nice spot. He has a lot of the makings of a good major league starting pitcher.”
ABS challenge system in use
The Twins’ first challenge of the spring was a successful one.
Catcher Christian Vázquez initiated a challenge during the first inning of the game, believing a two-strike pitch from Matthews on the corner was a strike, despite the call from home plate umpire Marvin Hudson. After a quick review shown on the Hammond Stadium scoreboard, the call was overturned and Matthews was out of the inning, stranding a runner on second base.
“He hesitated for a little bit and then he hit it,” Matthews said of the catcher. “I thought it might be a little bit away. No, we clipped the zone. That was cool to see.”
MLB is testing out the automated ball-strike challenge system — which has been used in the minor leagues in previous years — this spring for potential implementation in future years. It will not be used at the major league level this year.
Briefly
David Festa, another young starter who debuted last season, is expected to start the Twins’ second contest of the spring when they head north to Bradenton on Sunday to face the Pittsburgh Pirates. … Luke Keaschall, the Twins’ Minor League Player of the Year, drove in two runs with a single in his first at-bat in the Twins’ win over the Braves.
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