Michael Matuella

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.

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

Amateur career

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

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
  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. 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.
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