Michael Matuella

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Michael Matuella
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1994-06-03) June 3, 1994 (age 29)
Great Falls, Virginia, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Michael Benjamin Matuella (born June 3, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball for the Duke Blue Devils. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 2015 MLB draft.

Amateur career[edit]

Born and raised in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, Matuella's family moved to Great Falls, Virginia. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, across the Potomac River.[1] He was lightly recruited out of high school and only received offers to play college baseball at Duke University and the University of Maryland.[2] He chose to play for the Duke Blue Devils.

As a freshman in 2013, he appeared in 22 games with seven starts. He had a 4–4 win–loss record with a 4.53 earned run average (ERA) and 28 strikeouts over 57+2⁄3 innings pitched. In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.[3] As a sophomore in 2014, Matuella started 11 games, going 1–3 with a 2.78 ERA and 69 strikeouts over 58+1⁄3 innings.[4] After the season, he was diagnosed with spondylolysis, which caused him to not pitch during the summer or fall.[5]

Entering his junior season, Matuella was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.[6][7][8][9] Prior to the season he was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America.[10] In April it was announced that he would need Tommy John surgery, which ended his junior season.[11] He pitched only 25 innings as a junior.[12]

Professional career[edit]

The Texas Rangers selected Matuella in the third round, with the 78th overall selection, of the 2015 draft.[13] He signed with the Rangers, receiving a $2 million signing bonus.[14] Matuella did not play in 2015 due to recovery from Tommy John surgery, and his 2016 season was cut short after one game with the Spokane Indians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League due to a sprained ligament in his right elbow.[15] He spent the first month of the 2017 season on the disabled list, but still pitched in 21 games, posting a 4–6 record with a 4.20 ERA for the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League.[16] Matuella spent the 2018 season with the Down East Wood Ducks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League,[17] and struggled throughout the season, posting a 3–5 record with a 8.24 ERA in 51.1 innings in 20 games (8 starts).[18] He was assigned back to Down East for the 2019 season,[19] going 5–2 with a 4.04 ERA over 42.1 innings. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Matuella was released by Texas on May 13, 2021.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jim Sumner (July 11, 2017). "Former Blue Devil Matuella Making Step-By-Step Return". Duke University. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Aaron Fitt (February 11, 2015). "Meet Michael Matuella, Unlikely No. 1 Prospect". D1Baseball.com. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  3. ^ "Michael Matuella". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  4. ^ Duke ace Michael Matuella on fast track to stardom Archived February 13, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Duke's Matuella Impresses In First Outing". Baseball America. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  6. ^ "Pipeline Perspectives: Matuella should be No. 1 pick". MLB.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  7. ^ Steve Wiseman (February 12, 2015). "Matuella ready to show his talents for Blue Devils". The Herald-Sun. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  8. ^ James Meslener. "Michael Matuella: The Next Big Arm to Watch for". Baseball Essential. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  9. ^ Clemson rides Michael Matuella's fastball to 5-3 ACC baseball win over Duke Archived February 13, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "BASE: Matuella Named Baseball America Preseason All-American". 99.9 The Fan ESPN. February 2, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  11. ^ Ted Cahill. "Top Draft prospect Matuella needs Tommy John surgery". MLB.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  12. ^ Laura Keeley (June 7, 2015). "Duke pitcher Michael Matuella one of the MLB Draft's biggest mysteries". The News & Observer. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  13. ^ Laura Keeley (June 9, 2015). "Texas Rangers draft Duke pitcher Michael Matuella in 3rd round". The News & Observer. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  14. ^ "Texas Rangers: Rangers pitcher who once had potential to be top-five draft pick stays on course in Arizona". The Dallas Morning News. May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  15. ^ Adam J. Morris (June 22, 2016). "Michael Matuella done for the season with sprained elbow ligament". Lone Star Ball. SB Nation. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  16. ^ "Michael Matuella Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  17. ^ Down East Wood Ducks (April 3, 2018). "2018 Down East Rotation Set". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  18. ^ "Michael Matuella Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  19. ^ Matt Presentt (March 27, 2019). "Wood Ducks Announce 2019 Roster". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.

External links[edit]

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