Twins pitching prospect Zebby Matthews moves up the ladder, and still doesn’t walk anyone

Zebby Matthews, arguably the Twins’ top pitching prospect, had the worst two starts of his season over the last week with the St. Paul Saints.

He surrendered a combined 18 hits and nine runs across nine innings. He’s allowed more than two earned runs just three times in 17 outings, and two of them were in a six-day stretch. He compiled 12 strikeouts in those two starts and, of course, zero walks.

Matthews, even on his worst days, rarely walks anybody. Promoted to his third level this year, he issued zero walks in 22⅔ innings at Class A-Advanced Cedar Rapids and six walks in 55⅓ innings at Class AA Wichita. One of the running jokes among Twins player development staff is the idea of a t-shirt that says “ZEBBY” with the two Bs crossed out because he doesn’t walk hitters.

“I don’t go out there and necessarily do certain command training,” said Matthews, a 24-year-old righthander. “I don’t really do that. I just pick a spot in the zone, or at the catcher, and just throw it hard through the spot. It usually works out for me. As long as it keeps working, I’m going to keep doing that.”

Matthews, listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, simply smiles and shrugs when he’s asked about his impeccable control. His youth coaches harped on filling the strike zone, but that’s no different than all other pitchers. The difference is he lives it. He’s walked 21 batters in 200⅓ innings since the Twins drafted him in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB amateur draft out of Western Carolina.

He didn’t walk his first batter this season until his seventh start, a stunning 141-batter streak.

“I had a couple of friends whenever I walked my first guy, they gave me a hard time about it,” Matthews said. “It was fun. It’s not necessarily something I was going out there and saying I don’t want to walk anybody. Ultimately, the goal is just to strike out the hitters and throw up zeroes.”

Matthews has transformed into a top prospect this summer — he is ranked No. 61 on Baseball America’s list — because of his effectiveness in the strike zone, too. He’s totaled 109 strikeouts in 92 innings this year while posting a 2.64 ERA.

A big reason for his success is a jump in velocity, which he attributes to attending the Twins’ velocity camp before the start of spring training over the last two years. He went from a college pitcher who sat in the low-90s, sometimes touching 96 mph, to a guy who regularly sits at 96 mph with his fastball while occasionally reaching 98 mph.

Working with Tommy Bergjans this spring, the Twins’ coordinator of pitching development, he scrapped a sweepy slider he threw last year for a harder slider, which pairs well with his cutter, curveball and changeup.

“Last year, I was trying to work on a sweeper, but that really wasn’t working out for me too well,” he said. “We kind of switched gears. I kept the cutter that I had, and I added like a gyro slider, almost, that I’m able to throw a lot more in-zone and in better locations. We added that. I used to throw a curveball, so we added that back in. It’s been a big pitch for me, too.”

Matthews, the youngest of five children in his family, initially wanted to play college baseball as a shortstop, receiving a couple of offers to play at smaller schools as a position player. But people told him they saw his future in pitching.

His future in pitching became more obvious when he threw a seven-inning perfect game during his senior year of high school with 17 strikeouts.

“That was when, like, maybe I’m going to be a pitcher after all,” he said.

It’s been a stellar minor league season for Matthews, putting him on the fast track through the Twins farm system. His addition to St. Paul’s roster after the All-Star break signaled he could receive a chance to contribute to the Twins during their playoff push if he continues to pitch well.

“Everybody has goals of reaching the big leagues,” Matthews said. “Everybody’s path and journey is different, but ultimately, that’s my goal. Just trying to get there as quickly and as best as possible.”