A Closer Look At Matt Garza

At the beginning of the 2007 season, Matt Garza was hailed as the Minnesota Twins best pitching prospect. This was by far an amazing achievement, because in 2006 he was only considered their seventh best in 2006 and that was out of the depth of pitching prospects that the Twins have.

This, however, didn’t help him any when it came time to fill a roster spot in Spring Training, because Matt wasn’t given the fifth starter job. Instead the Twins went through Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker before giving him a shot. This wasn’t a decision of the better pitcher, but rather because of a dispute over his pitch selection.

On June 28th, Matt Garza made his second debut in the Majors and didn’t disappoint the Twins fans at all. He recorded a 5-7 record in 15 games. Some might say that this wasn’t an achievement, but he posted a 3.69 ERA, 67 Strike Outs and 32 Bases on Balls. This was a great leap forward compared to his 2006 numbers of 3-6, 5.76 ERA, 38 Strike Outs and 23 Bases on Balls.

Garza would be a great addition to the Mets future, even if it costs them Carlos Gomez. Like a lot of people like to say, “It’s harder to find a good pitcher, than it is to find a good outfielder”.

From Scouts.com:

Repertoire: Fastball, Slider, Curveball, Changeup

Fastball. Garza showed an electric fastball during the 2006 season, as he continued to hit high digits even after an entire season of college baseball. His heater sits in the low to mid 90s, and it has been clocked as high as 96 miles per hour. As is not the case with his other pitches, Garza relies on his fastball, and has confidence in it when he throws it. It is one of the better fastballs in the organization, and it will once again cause hitters fits in 2007.

Other Pitches.Garza has a nice assortment of breaking stuff, but his main problem is a reluctance to rely on them in crucial situations. Due to this, he relies on his fastball too much, and than will get him into trouble as he goes higher and higher through the system. Still, his slider is a good one, being clocked in the mid 80s, and his changeup is showing the potential to be a solid pitch in his arsenal. Add those pitches to a high 70s curveball, and you have the makings of a pretty lethal repertoire.

Twins To Move Garza?

Joe Christensen at the Star Tribune writes about the Twins efforts to improve their offense and who they are rumored to be willing to part with:

The Twins protected Matt Garza in 2006, for example, when the Washington Nationals wanted him in a package for Alfonso Soriano.

Now, there are strong indications the Twins would be willing to move Garza for a top young hitter. Other teams are asking about Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey as well.

"We have good young pitchers that other teams covet," Smith said. "I think there are a lot of teams that would like to have the stable of young arms that the Twins have."