David Matoma continues to impress in the Complex League
Matoma continues his solid start to the season.
It’s generally best to try to temper any expectations from any prospect deep down in the lower levels of the minors.
Now, occasionally, someone comes along, making things a little more difficult than usual.
David Matoma burst onto the scene last year after signing out of Uganda and saw a major bump in his fastball velocity, reportedly hitting triple-digits at least once.
He also didn’t allow an earned run in 16.2 innings pitched in the Dominican Summer League, striking out 14 while walking another seven.
The Pirates initially had Matoma throw only one inning at a time this season, striking out five over those three games. Since then, he’s been stretched out and has more than an inning in each of his last four games played.
He only pitched 1.2 innings on Thursday, allowing just a hit and striking out four, but had completed two full frames three games in a row.
The increased workload hasn’t diminished his stuff, as he has struck out at least three in each game he has worked multiple innings, and has done so in five of seven games overall.
Armed with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and a slider/cutter to go with it, Matoma is quickly establishing himself as a legitimate prospect now that he is stateside.
It’s always worth being cautious about anyone who comes over from the DSL and puts up big numbers, but Matoma is backing up that performance with another strong one here in the FCL.
We will see what kind of workload the Pirates have in mind for him, he’s already at 10.2 innings this season—just six behind what he threw last year.
The Pirates have quite an impressive stable of arms in their system, even with one graduating this year and another close to doing so.
Matoma seems poised to add his name to that mix of top pitching prospects should he continue his performance throughout the FCL season, especially considering he’ll be 18 for the rest of the year.
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Love this. So hope it makes the long journey to the majors. What a story that will be.
Is he starting pitcher or a reliever?