Rockies prospects Matzek, Gomez out with injuries
Low Class A Asheville left-hander Tyler Matzek is on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis that might only cause him to miss one start. Recurring back problems have sidelined Double-A Tulsa shortstop Hector Gomez, who has been shut down indefinitely and might be unable to play in the Arizona Fall League.
Matzek, whose turn in the Tourists rotation is tonight, could return Sunday Aug. 29 when that spot again arises. In 16 starts, Matzek, 18, the 11th player taken overall in the 2009 draft, is 5-1 with a 2.99 ERA. He has allowed just 57 hits in 81 1/3 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .204 average, but fastball command has been a problem for Matzek, who 56 walks and 81 strikeouts.
The disabled list is seven days in the minors, and Matzek went on the DL on Aug. 19, one day after his last start.
Gomez hasn’t played since hurting his back when he swung and missed Aug. 13. Gomez began the season at Tulsa but injured his lower back while being taken out on a double play in the second game of the season. During his rehab, Gomez, 22, developed a stress fracture in his back.
He was out until July 16 when he began a rehab assignment that lasted 18 games at short-season Class A Tri-City. Gomez then returned to Tulsa where he hit .345 (10-for-29) in seven games with four doubles, three RBI and six runs scored before his latest back trouble.
IIRC, Matzek is a guy who throws in the upper 90′s correct?
It will be fun to watch him progress through the system.
Strange question, Matzek is not on the 40 correct? I hope this injury is not going to be ongoing, having missed last year with the contract negotions, he needs the develop time. The reason I was wondering about the 40 is would the Rocks give him a September call-up, not so much to actually pitch but to be around the team, get the feel, get more coaching from Wright and Apodoca, and if need be give a chance against a lefty here or there. Know that would start the clock on arbitration (still think that is going to get dealt with in the next collective bargaining), but seems like they would want to teach the kid the mental part of the game ASAP. Besides as we saw with Porcello (who granted had a horrible 2010), a kid his age could well be here full-time within the next 18 months.
It’s really unfortunate to see Gomez go on the DL…again! He has so much promise, and could have been a fantastic replacement for Barmes in a year or two. However, that guy cannot stay healthy. In fact, he’s got to be one of the most injury prone players in our system. It’s tough to watch.
Great win tonight, by the way. Helton looked fantastic.
Matzek is not on the 40-man. While it would be intriguing to see him pitch, he’s a long away from a callup. Some teams, like the Tigers with Andrew Miller and Rick Porcello, will rush their pitching prospects, but the Rockies have never really done that and are probably even less likely to do so after the injury trouble Greg Reynolds had when rushed through the system.
The Rockies have a plan for Matzek. They delayed his start to this season to keep his innings down — he’ll finish up around 100 innings. A September callup would start the clock on service time, arbitration and force the Rockies to burn on option on Matzek next season, at least a season, and probably two, before they otherwise would. If he were just lighting things up, it would be intriguing. But as good as he’s been, he’s really battled command at the Rockies’ lowest-level full-season league.
The most aggressive schedule you might see Matzek on is one similar to the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw was drafted in 2006, pitched a half season after the draft, pitched a full season in the minors in 2007 and was recalled from Double-A after dominating to start 2008. Matzek’s a bit behind because he signed so late last year. Expect him to pitch a full season in the minor leagues in 2011 starting at Modesto and maybe ending at Tulsa if things go well. In 2012, if he starts well you could see him move quickly.
Thanks Steve you said it much better than I could have. While Matsek is a big time prospect with a mid 90s fastball, he is also still very young and the walks will have to be dealt with before he can make a serious run at the MLB roster.
Another side note, I really appreciate players like Bettis that once drafted get themselves signed then into the system and producing within a very short period of time. I understand that Matsek was a high schooler and Bettis is more of a college prospect, but losing a baseball season to contract negotiations seems like such a waste because you never know when you might lose another season to a serious injury.
Thank goodness Matzek is not on the 40-man. There were worries as negotiations wound down to the deadline that he would insist on a major league deal (as I believe Porcello received). For a kid out of high school, that would be a disaster as each year in the minors would be an option year. You’d end up promoting him whether he was ready or not so you wouldn’t lose him to waivers.
There are high hopes for him. You hope he can stay healthy. Same for Friedrich.
Thanks for the details Steve, as always. Was kind of a thought experiment I was trying there. Given how bad Miller and Porcello (at least this year) have done after initial success, the Rockies way seems smarter. So from what you say sounds like he hits the 40 in 2012 at the earliest…nice to have that flexibility. For some reason I had remembered his deal including a 40 spot as part of the negotiations, but that is probably bad memory at work.
Nice to not have to worry about rushing him, given the depth further up the chain right now.
Additionally, the Rockies take it slow with their prospects so they can get the peak performance of their players during their cheaper, pre-arb years. Better value than to pay a guy the league minimum so he can get really good, forcing you to pay him bigger bucks during his bigger years.
This is the opposite approach the Dodgers have taken and, most likely, they will be forced to make some tough decisions earlier on their key players than the Rockies had to with Gen R.