It’s time for another top prospect to make his MLB debut with the Twins.
While no crystal ball could have foretold the Minnesota Twins’ disastrous injury luck, the team’s decision not to make a trade at the deadline has aged poorly.
Even before losing Joe Ryan to a Grade 2 teres strain, the Twins had to figure out how to add starting pitching depth. Following a kneecap injury last week, Minnesota has promoted yet another top prospect to make his MLB debut.
Zebby Matthews has had a meteoric climb this season on the farm. He began the year as one of a few pitching prospects to keep an eye on, but he has now advanced to the Top 100 and has been scorching up opposition pitchers.
Following David Festa’s debut earlier this summer, Matthews emerged as the Twins’ top MLB-ready prospect, and he is about to take the next step.
Twins are calling up Zebby Matthews for series vs. Royals
It was mentioned over the weekend as a possibility, and a shortage of available starters has produced a push-and-shove situation.
As predicted, the Twins have called up Matthews to help fill out the rotation before of a vital series against the Kansas City Royals.
Matthews becomes the Twins’ fifth minor league player to make his MLB debut this season. Austin Martin and Jair Camargo were the first, with Festa and Brooks Lee joining a few months later. So far, the results have been mainly encouraging, while the verdict is still out on Martin and Camargo.
Festa struggled in his first few starts but settled in beautifully with the first genuinely spectacular performance of his career against the Chicago Cubs last week. He did his best against the Guardians over the weekend, but the Twins eventually lost the game he started.
Matthews’ ascent is both fascinating and nerve-racking. Minnesota’s farm system is ranked in the top five, but the promotion is not ideal. Rather than giving him a chance based only on his ability, the Twins are making this move out of sheer desperation.
The Twins have ran out of healthy arms to put in the rotation, which comes at a bad time. Minnesota is only 3.5 games away from first place, but a half-game stand has the Twins falling back to third.
It’s definitely wonderful to see Matthews advance so swiftly, but his debut comes with a lot of pressure to deliver right away.
