Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Left-Handed Pitching Free Agent Targets

Steven Matz

Steven Matz was considered baseball’s premier left-handed pitching prospect back in the mid-2010s. The New York Mets had selected him in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft and while it took him a bit to make the majors, Matz’s first few seasons in the big leagues looked like he’d be a long term part of a Mets rotation that housed Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Bartolo Colon.

Though after 2016, he would have a handful of middling seasons before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2020-2021 off-season. However, the change of scenery seemed to have gotten Matz on the right track.

Throughout the 2021 campaign, Matz posted a 3.82 ERA, 3.79 FIP, and 1.33 WHIP in 150.2 innings of work. Matz posted an outstanding 6.6% walk rate, though this did come at the cost of a 22.3% strikeout rate. Still, Matz posted his lowest HR/9, that being 1.08, since the 2016 season, back when he was a rookie.

Matz throws his sinker with an average velocity of 94.5 MPH, which is in the top 71st percentile. Though his batted ball rates were all-around average, he did have an exit velo in the 72nd percentile and a hard-hit rate in the 57th percentile. He also had solid ERA estimators, holding a 3.94 xFIP and 4.12 SIERA. The only estimator that didn’t agree with his solid production was a 4.87 DRA.

Still, Matz played better away from home than he did at the Blue Jays’ stadium. Rogers Centre is one of the more hitter-friendly parks in baseball. Last year, it ranked 12th in home run rate while PNC Park ranked 29th. It also gave up more runs overall compared to PNC Park. I also think he’d benefit from being caught by Jacob Stallings. The three catchers who he has thrown to the most often include Wilson Ramos, Travis d’Arnaud, and Kevin Plawecki. Imagine how he might fare with the best defensive catcher in the sport.

Matz is probably the most costly free agent on this list. He’s probably the only one that could command a deal with more than 2 years. But I think he’s still someone the Pirates should go after. He’d be a quality left-handed rotation anchor for the team for possibly multiple years. Matz has the potential to be a 3.50 ERA pitcher once you consider he’ll be pitching in a pitcher-friendly park and will have one of the best defensive catchers in baseball receiving him.