Cole Mathis is a small-town child from the South hoping to make it huge on Chicago’s North Facet. His upside is obvious — Mathis possesses projectable instruments, together with plus uncooked energy — however there are query marks, as nicely. Drafted 54th total in 2024 by the Cubs out of the Faculty of Charlestown, the 22-year-old nook infielder will enter the 2026 marketing campaign with a smattering of expertise above the newbie stage. He had Tommy John surgical procedure following his junior season, then was restricted to only 194 plate appearances final 12 months (128 with Low-A Myrtle Seaside and 66 within the Arizona Fall League) because of a proper elbow sprain. The diploma to which he’ll have success in opposition to skilled pitchers as he climbs the minor-league ladder is unsure.
His future place can be in query. Whereas he was drafted as a 3rd baseman, Mathis was primarily a primary baseman in faculty… when he wasn’t pitching. Previous to going below the knife, Mathis was a two-way participant who confirmed loads of promise on the mound due to a fastball that reached the mid-90s. Over 100 collegiate frames, he usual a 3.60 ERA with 90 strikeouts and simply 30 walks.
Once I caught as much as him within the AFL, I requested Mathis if he nonetheless thinks about standing atop a clump of dust sixty ft, six inches away from residence plate. I additionally needed to listen to his ideas on a what-if:
Had his elbow been wholesome, may he have been drafted and developed as a pitcher?
“I imply, yeah, for positive,” Mathis responded to the primary query. “It’s one thing I may fall again on, however hopefully I received’t must resort to pitching once more. On the time of the draft, my hitting expertise had been farther above the place my pitching was, and the Cubs and I noticed eye to eye with that, so it’s what we needed to do transferring ahead.
“I don’t know,” he stated to the second. “I imply, I received to pitch two sturdy years in faculty (he was solely a place participant in his last collegiate season as a result of broken UCL) and don’t actually know what would have occurred that junior 12 months. However yeah, I feel we made the proper resolution.”
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How nicely he develops as a hitter — significantly if he finally ends up at first base reasonably than on the scorching nook — will assist decide if it was the proper alternative. Furthermore, his potential to raise will go a great distance towards his reaching, or failing to succeed in, his ceiling. Mathis understands that.
“We’ve positively been engaged on getting the ball within the air slightly extra,” he informed me. “A bit of little bit of it’s bat path, however the majority of it’s pitch choice, getting pitches that I can drive. I’ve a flatter swing, so whereas I’ve had some success on balls down within the zone, pitches up within the zone play extra to my swing.”
Mathis went on to say that whereas he used to have “type of the identical swing, irrespective of the pitcher,” he has come to understand that adjustability is a necessity in opposition to higher-quality hurlers. There’s a psychological element to it in addition to a mechanical.
“I’ve type of needed to change my strategy,” stated Mathis. “Not a lot change my swing, however reasonably change the thought course of behind it. You possibly can’t simply have the identical strategy and swing again and again. Pitchers watch movie as a lot as we do, in order that they’re on the market taking part in their pitches off our swings.”
The place he grew up performs into how he approaches the sport of baseball itself.
“I come from a small city — it’s known as known as Cataula — and our county solely has one highschool [Harris County High School in Hamilton, GA],” Mathis defined. “I don’t know the whole inhabitants of my hometown, however all people is aware of all people. Realizing that I’ve an entire city of help behind me, an entire county of help, means so much. Once I go on the market, I’m not simply taking part in for me, however for additionally for them. I’m representing my city.”
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Jason Giambi went 23 for 37 in opposition to Darren Oliver.
Al Oliver went 11 for 19 in opposition to Vern Ruhle.
Bob Oliver went 11 for 21 in opposition to Diego Segui.
Joe Oliver went 8 for 15 in opposition to Rheal Cormier.
Ollie Brown went 15 for 30 in opposition to Jerry Reuss.
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Jackson Baumeister had numerous promise when he was drafted 63rd total by the Baltimore Orioles out of Florida State College in 2023. What he didn’t have was an understanding of pitching analytics. I discovered as a lot after I talked to the 22-year-old right-hander in the course of the Arizona Fall League season, the place he was making up for innings misplaced because of a shoulder ailment.
“In highschool, even in faculty, I had no concept what pitch metrics had been,” admitted Baumeister, whom the Tampa Bay Rays acquired from their A.L. East rivals in July 2024 as a part of the Zach Eflin deal. “We had been slightly behind the curve in faculty when it got here to TrackMan, Rapsodo, and stuff like that. I used to be utterly uncooked coming into professional ball. Once I received drafted, it was principally, ‘Hey, I don’t know any of the phrases or numbers you’re saying to me.’ I principally had to do that entire little grasp class of pitch metrics.”
Baumeister’s classes started in Baltimore’s introductory draft conferences, and from there he continued to select up information, together with in bullpen periods the place he would study concerning the readings he noticed on the iPad. Earlier than lengthy, he “understood what these numbers meant, and what the Orioles had been telling me about issues like what the candy spot was for all of my pitches.”
When he signed, Baumeister’s bread and butter pitches had been his fastball and curveball, the latter of which has been supplanted by a slider as his major secondary providing. And whereas his mid-90s heater stays his greatest pitch, the way in which he makes use of it’s far totally different.
“In faculty, my coaches preached throwing the low-and-away fastball,” defined the erstwhile FSU hurler. “For a man like me who rides the ball fairly nicely and will get numerous induced vertical break, that wasn’t preferrred. Entering into professional ball, it grew to become ‘Throw your fastball on the prime of the zone.’ I even have a fairly low launch, so by finding the ball on the prime of the zone, I get numerous swing-and-misses.
“My launch top is decrease than six ft,” continued Baumeister. “I get down into the 5-5, 5-6 vary, after which I’m round 17 or 18 [inches] of vertical break on common with my fastball. Velo-wise, I feel I averaged 95 [mph] this previous 12 months, however I can attain again to 97-98 on an excellent day. It’s my greatest pitch, little doubt.”
Backing off on his curveball utilization and throwing extra sliders was a Rays directive. His present group additionally altered the form of his slider. Whereas he used to throw a sweepier model, he now throws extra of a gyro. Together with the four-seamer, gyro, and lesser-used curveball, the righty additionally has a changeup in his arsenal. That has additionally undergone a tweak. Final season he started engaged on a kick-change to switch what had been a extra conventional two-seam circle.
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A quiz:
Ichiro Suzuki has probably the most singles because the flip of the century (2000), whereas Albert Pujols is tops in each doubles and residential runs. Which participant has probably the most triples? (A touch: he had 517 stolen bases and 145 residence runs.)
The reply will be discovered beneath.
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NEWS NOTES
The upcoming SABR Analytics Dialog, which is able to happen in Phoenix from February 27-March 1, will embrace a seven-person Arizona Diamondbacks entrance workplace panel. Extra data will be discovered right here.
SABR’s John McMurray not too long ago carried out an oral historical past interview with Greg Maddux. The transcript and video recording will be discovered right here.
Roy Face, a right-hander who performed for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1953-1968, after which briefly for the Detroit Tigers and Montreal Expos, died earlier this week at age 97. A standout on Pittsburgh’s 1960 World Sequence championship membership, Face is the franchise’s all-time chief in pitching appearances (802), aid wins (94), and saves (188). As talked about right here in Sunday Notes two weeks in the past, his 18 aid wins in 1959 are an MLB document.
Gary Blaylock, who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals and New Yankees in 1959, died earlier this month at age 94. The Clarkton, Missouri native appeared in 41 video games and went 4-6 with a 4.80 ERA. He was the pitching coach for the Kansas Metropolis Royals after they captured the World Sequence in 1985.
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The reply to the quiz is José Reyes, with 131 triples. Should you guessed Carl Crawford, he had 123 triples, in addition to 480 stolen bases and 136 residence runs.
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Mike Daly was featured right here at FanGraphs on Wednesday, the topic at hand being the present state of San Diego’s prospect pipeline. Left on the cutting-room ground from my dialog with the membership’s assistant director of participant growth was what he discovered from his 12 months as a minor-league supervisor. Daly was on the helm of the Excessive-A Fort Wayne TinCaps in 2024.
“I discovered so much,” stated Daly, whose résumé additionally contains in depth scouting expertise. “Before everything, it offers you a better appreciation, and empathy, for what gamers and the workers undergo from spring coaching all the way in which to the tip. And the season is lengthy. You perceive that from a entrance workplace perspective, however till you’ve lived it, you don’t actually perceive it.”
Daly went on to say the velocity of the sport, and the way managers often must make choices on brief discover. Experiencing that firsthand bolstered the significance of pre-game planning and speaking by numerous eventualities previous to the group’s taking the sphere. He additionally obtained a reminder that endurance is a advantage with regards to growth.
“Up to now, I used to be generally responsible of coming into an affiliate for per week and perhaps attempting to expedite, or push, some motion with the workers relating to sure growth of gamers,” Daly admitted. “What you study from being in that dugout for a full season is that the method of growth actually does take time. It actually made me higher when it comes to asking questions.”
Writing the experiences which are despatched to the entrance workplace after a sport is a markedly totally different expertise from being on the receiving finish.
“Sure,” acknowledged Daly. “Once you’re writing that supervisor report, particularly after a tricky loss… let’s simply say it’s so much totally different sitting within the dugout than it’s sitting behind the plate [as a scout] or within the workplace. Till you stroll in these sneakers… once more, you perceive, however you don’t actually perceive. I’m very grateful to have had a chance to do it.”
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A random obscure former participant snapshot:
Ice Field Chamberlain had an interesting profession. Born in Warsaw, New York in 1867, the right-hander went on to pitch for six main league groups throughout the 1886-1896 seasons, registering a document of 157-120. His greatest 12 months was 1889, when he went 32-15 whereas throwing 421-and-two-thirds innings for the American Affiliation’s St. Louis Browns.
Chamberlain — his given identify was Elton —had some particularly notable video games. Twice he pitched each right- and left-handed in the identical contest, making him, together with Larry Corcoran and Tony Mullane, considered one of three pre-1900 hurlers to toe the rubber in ambidextrous trend. On Might 30, 1894, Chamberlain not solely went the gap for the Cincinnati Reds in a 20-11 loss to the Boston Beaneaters, he was taken deep 4 instances by Bobby Lowe. In doing so, Lowe grew to become the primary participant in big-league historical past to hit 4 residence runs in the identical sport.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
MassLive’s Christopher Smith wrote about Kyle Boddy and the way the Boston Purple Sox have been implementing Driveline philosophies.
CBS Sports activities’s Dayn Perry weighed in on Chaim Bloom’s rebuild in St. Louis, and the place the Cardinals go from right here.
Cy Younger was born in a city of roughly 400 individuals in Ohio’s Tuscarawas County, and his 35-acre boyhood farm is now up on the market. Joey Morona has the story at Cleveland.com.
What would MLB appear to be with a wage cap? Evan Drellich delved into that query at The Athletic.
The Athletic’s Katie Woo wrote about how “The Harvard of umpire colleges” is closing as altering instances favor tech over custom.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Ollie Bejma performed for the St. Louis Browns from 1934-1936, and for the Chicago White Sox in 1939, logging 202 hits and a .245 batting common. Humble as these numbers are, they didn’t dissuade legendary cartoonist (and big-time baseball fan) Charles Schultz from that includes him in a February 21, 1974 Peanuts caricature. Requested who performed shortstop for the pennant-winning St. Paul Saints in 1938, Woodstock replied to Snoopy that it was Ollie Bejma.
Blaine Durbin performed in 32 video games and logged 14 hits in 51 at-bats whereas suiting up for 3 groups throughout the 1907-1909 seasons. His first two seasons had been spent with the Chicago Cubs, who received the World Sequence in every of these years. The final of Durbin’s seasons was cut up between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates, the latter of which received the World Sequence.
J.D. Martinez had 6,865 PAs, 1,741 hits, and three,172 complete bases.Nick Castellanos has 6,950 PAs, 1,742 hits, and a pair of,977 complete bases.
Mike Piazza had 7,745 PAs, a .308 BA, and 779 further base hits.Magglio Ordonez had 7,745 PAs, a .309 BA, and 741 further base hits.
The St. Louis Cardinals signed Leon Durham as a free agent on immediately’s date in 1989. The erstwhile Chicago Cubs slugger — he had 135 residence runs and a 125 wRC+ for the Northsiders from 1981-1987 — proceeded to document only one hit in 18 at-bats with the Cardinals. Suspended for failing a drug take a look at, Durham by no means once more performed within the majors.
The New York Yankees signed Jeff Reardon as a free agent on immediately’s date in 1994. The righty reliever, who recorded 367 saves whereas taking part in for seven groups throughout 16 seasons, went on to seem in 11 video games for the Yankees, incomes a win and two saves in what proved to be his last hurrah. Reardon is the one pitcher in MLB historical past to permit precisely 1,000 hits in his profession.
Gamers born on immediately’s date embrace Larry Yount, who appeared in a single MLB sport… but by no means really appeared in an MLB sport. A right-hander, the older brother of Corridor of Famer Robin Yount took the mound for the Houston Astros on September 15, 1971, however was injured whereas warming up and by no means delivered a pitch to a batter. As a result of he had been introduced, Yount’s identify is within the document books with one official look.
Additionally born on immediately’s date was Carlton Molesworth, a left-hander who logged a 14.63 ERA whereas showing in 4 video games for the Washington Senators in 1895. A youngster when he took the mound within the majors, Molesworth subsequently performed 17 seasons within the minors as an outfielder, suiting up for groups together with the Binghamton Bingos, Schenectady Electricians, and Shamokin Coal Heavers.
Slicker Parks had a humble MLB profession. Showing in 10 video games for the Detroit Tigers in 1921, the right-hander from Dallas Township, Michigan went 3-2 with a 5.68 ERA over 25-and-a-third frames. He fared much better down on the farm. In 1926, Parks went 19-14 with the Worldwide League’s Jersey Metropolis Skeeters.
