Steven Matz joined the St. Louis Cardinals organization before the 2022 season.
Injuries limited him to just 48 innings.
His 5.25 ERA was poor, but his 3.78 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), a stat that examines the things a pitcher can actually control, tells another story.
He is finally in a good place physically, and the results are starting to show.
Steven Matz’s 2023 Spring Training ERA: 1.53 pic.twitter.com/LLajrkODi5
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 23, 2023
With a 1.53 spring ERA, Matz is ready to occupy one of the Cardinals’ rotation spots.
On Thursday, he allowed only a solo homer in six innings as the Cards and Yankees played to a 1-1 tie.
The run he granted came on an Oswaldo Cabrera solo home run.
He didn’t issue any walks and struck out five hitters in the fine outing.
He is definitely over his knee injury, and has been striking people out this spring: he is up to 17 in 17.2 frames.
When healthy, Matz has some really nice upside as a backend starter.
He had some really good years with the New York Mets, but injuries often got in the way.
It might seem like he is older because he has been around for a while, but he is still just 31 and his stuff is intact.
The Cardinals are a really good organization for pitchers, with good coaching and a spacious home park.
Matz will definitely benefit from these situations, although it will all come down to health.
Right now, he is 100 percent, and as long as that’s the case, he is capable of being a sub-4.00s starter for St. Louis.
He has that kind of talent.
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Adam Wainwright Discusses His Injury
