Zebby Matthews Likely Getting Called Up | Fantasy Baseball Outlook for the Young Twins' Pitcher
Assessing Zebby Matthews as the Twins prepare to call him up on Sunday.
Another day, yet another MLB prospect being called up. Today, we'll discuss Zebby Matthews being called up by the Twins.
Also be sure to check out waiver wire stories for pitchers and hitters, plus Friday's streaming article.
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Matthews Stats and Grades
Matthews isn't a ranked prospect after he made nine MLB starts and covered 37 2/3 innings in 2024.
He went 1-4 with a 6.69 earned run average over those nine big league starts. Matthews allowed 31 runs (28 earned) on 51 hits and 11 walks, while striking out 43 batters. He surrendered 11 homers.
He's enjoyed a lot more success at the minor league level over four seasons now. Matthews has made 44 starts over 49 appearances, and is 15-7 with a 3.03 ERA. He's allowed 92 runs (80 earned) on 204 hits and 31 walks, while punching out 270 batters over 238 innings.
Matthews has a great 0.99 WHIP and averages 10.2 strikeouts and 1.2 walks over nine innings. There's plenty of good minor league stats to be excited about as Matthew returns to the big leagues, even after his struggles last season.
In seven Triple-A starts this season, Matthews is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA over 32 2/3 innings. He's allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 30 hits and nine walks. Matthews has struck out 38 batters.
The 24-year-old right-handed pitcher was drafted in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB Draft, so the fact he made it to the MLB in two years shows just how good he's been in the minor leagues. He's 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, so he's a pretty imposing figure on the mound.
In last year's recap of Matthews, he was graded as a 55 overall pitcher. He has a 55-graded fastball and cutter, a 45-graded slider and 40 marks for his curveball and changeup. Matthews has a 65 for control.
Matthews Fantasy Outlook
Matthews hasn't officially been called up yet, but he's expected to start on Sunday against the Brewers. Minnesota hasn't announced a starter for that contest yet.
The Brewers have some talent in their lineup, but have been pretty lackluster in May. Milwaukee did get going a bit in its last game, so depending on how they look over the next couple days, that could impact how fantasy owners look at Matthews.
Minnesota sent down Simeon Woods Richardson, and if Matthews excels in his return to the big leagues, there's a chance he could stick in the MLB for the rest of the year. He clearly doesn't have anything else to show in Triple-A - he just needs to start finding success at the big league level.
The Twins are the hottest team in baseball right now, so any starting pitcher for them has a good fantasy outlook. Matthews will be facing the Brewers' ace, Freddy Peralta, so that's also something to take into account.
Who Should Add Matthews?
Matthews was added in 4.8% of leagues at the time this article was published on Friday. He sits at 23.99% overall now, and that's bound to grow before he makes his start on Sunday.
The matchup is solid enough to consider him as a streamer. Given his MLB struggles in 2024, I'd be more inclined to only stream Matthews in deeper leagues. If the Brewers' offense continues to sputter on Friday and Saturday, then maybe I'd be a bit more tempted to stream Matthews in a standard league.
At the very least, I'd be picking up Matthews in deeper leagues and stashing him. If he struggles in his start against Milwaukee, and in any additional starts, then you can drop Matthews with no harm done to your fantasy team.
His Triple-A numbers are too strong to not give Matthews a chance in a deeper fantasy setup though. If he finds similar success in the big leagues, Matthews would become a standard league option in a hurry, so that's a gamble I'm taking right now in deeper leagues.
All it might take for Matthews' own percentage to skyrocket is one good start, so all fantasy owners need to keep tabs on his Sunday results. If he makes a start after that, it could come against the Royals, who are a similar offense to the Brewers.
It could be a two-for-one pickup with Matthews, and he could turn into so much more. There's a good chance Matthews appears in a waiver wire article early next week, but keep watching his own percentage before Sunday's start to see if you need to be making the move for him before that.
