A fanbase rarely gets to see the major league debut of multiple highly-touted pitching prospects in one season. The Minnesota Twins’ No. 6 overall prospect, David Festa, made his first MLB start on June 27 in Arizona. But on Tuesday night, Twins fans witnessed another top prospect debut, this time at Target Field. Rookie right-handed starting pitcher Zebby Matthews, the team’s no. 5 prospect, made his inaugural big league start against the Kansas City Royals.
It was a night to remember for Matthews. Minnesota’s 8th-round pick in 2022 out of Western Carolina has already been a fascinating story this season. He started the season in High-A Cedar Rapids before working his way up to Double-A and Triple-A in one season. That alone is a big jump for any prospect. Then consider that he jumped through almost every minor league level in one season to make the major league roster.
“It’s everybody’s dream, 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,” said Matthews before his first career MLB start. “Just go out there and focus on doing my job each time, whether it’s in A-ball or here.”
Matthews made Tuesday night even more special when he threw 5 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5 and allowing no walks on 77 pitches. An excellent opening start in front of the Target Field crowd kept the Royals down long enough for Minnesota’s lineup to give him 5 runs of support while he was on the mound. The offense didn’t stop when he left the mound, and Minnesota’s 13-3 victory gave Matthews his first career win. A win in the box score for Matthews is also a win for the Twins organization’s approach to developing starting pitchers.
He’s an intriguing prospect with a great baseball name: David Zebulon Matthews. The 6’5” right-hander from Western Carolina wasn’t known as a power pitcher in college. He had a nice fastball but also threw a wide array of secondary pitches, including a cutter, changeup, slider, and curveball.
Matthews used every pitch in his arsenal Tuesday night, throwing his 4-seam fastball 49 percent of the time. His heater has been a big part of his leap through the minor leagues. Matthews’ fastball topped out in the low-90 MPH range coming out of college. In under two years with the Twins organization, he now is throwing 94 MPH and has hit 97 MPH with his 4-seamer this season.
Fastballs have played a big role in Matthews’ command, his biggest strength. In college, he was known for throwing around the strike zone with a 1.5 BB/9 rate. Matthew’s strong heater allows him to generate plenty of swings and misses. Combined through the major and minor leagues, Matthews has an astounding 119/7 K/BB ratio. So far, so good for Matthews in his big league debut, allowing no walks and getting 5 strikeouts.
Matthews is just the latest Twins pitcher to make the majors with help from Minnesota’s pitching development plan. The Twins have shown a willingness to draft pitchers later, typically from schools that wouldn’t be considered a baseball powerhouse. Fellow rookie David Festa (6’6”, Seton Hall), along with the towering Bailey Ober (6’9”, College of Charleston), are all big-league examples of this. Looking deeper into the Twins farm system, C.J. Culpepper (No. 15 prospect) and Cory Lewis (No. 16 prospect) are two other pitching prospects who were late-round draft picks in the same 2022 draft.
A development plan or process can be different for every pitcher. But generally speaking, the Twins discover those lesser-known arms and find ways to maximize their fastballs, adding just a couple more MPH to a heater to make it a competitive pitch against big-league hitters. Using their long arms to their advantage means hitters have less time to see the ball coming out of their hand, which makes up for not having a complete burner fastball. That allows Minnesota’s pitchers to throw high in the zone with their 4-seamers and push opposing lineups to hit weak fly balls.
Matthews’ fastball and overall command were right in his first start. However, he needs to ensure he doesn’t only throw those pitches for strikes because they must avoid catching too much of the strike zone where hitters can take it a long way. He had a 91.1 MPH average exit velocity (league average is 88.5) overall and a 96.6 MPH average exit velocity off the fastball, the pitch he allowed a home run on.
Overall, it was a good night for Matthews, but it’s important to remember that young pitchers are almost always a mixed bag. Festa couldn’t get past the 4th inning in his last start Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians. However, in his start last week against the Chicago Cubs, he had his best career start with 5 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts.
Festa and Matthews, along with fellow young starters Simeon Woods Richardson, 23, and Louie Varland, 26, can throw quality starts for Minnesota down the stretch. However, the team and the fanbase need to remember that each pitcher will likely have some ineffective starts through the final 40 games of the regular season.
Matthews earned the opportunity to get another start with the Twins. Even if he doesn’t, Matthews will likely be getting a workload of MLB innings. Joe Ryan landed on the injured list after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 teres major strain that could put him away until 2025. Even if Matthews has some ineffective starts the rest of the season, the potential he and Festa show us that the 2025 Twins rotation will be intriguing with multiple arms who have flashed success in the big leagues.
Rookie pitchers will have good starts, like Matthews did on Tuesday. They may also struggle. It’s important to ease expectations for a position that typically sees starting pitchers take years to develop into their full potential. The Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober of 2021 are nowhere near as good as the 2024 versions of themselves. Like it or not, the Twins will have to lean on multiple young arms to come through and help down the stretch.
Through a product of his development and his circumstances, Zebby Matthews earned his first major league start on Tuesday night. Rookie pitchers will always offer mixed results, but a solid big-league debut should have fans excited that another young pitcher is in the mix for this season and the years to come.
