Mat Latos pitching well...

by soccerman0 on Sep 4, 2008 3:00 PM EDT

Mat LAtos has been straight up dominant since being promoted up to SS from his AZL rehab assignment.

In SS, through 17.1 IP, he has an ERA of 1.04 (has only allowed 2 runs, one was let in by a relief pitcher), .156 BAA, and most impressively a 23/3 SO/BB ratio.

Behind the stats, you can see him mature as a pitcher. Last night, the very first pitch he threw was crushed for a HR by Ryan Royster of Seattle. One of the issues some scouts had with him was that he had a hard time bouncing back from hard times while pitching. After the HR he allowed a single and then threw a wild pitch; he ends up with a 1-0 deficit with a man on 2nd and no outs. What does he do? One pop out, and 2 SO both swinging. Similar occurrences happened over the course of the game, and he was able to get out of all of them.

Latos is clearly a SO pitcher, but he also has a solid arsenal of pitches behind his plus fastball that can get ground balls when needed (1.51 GO/AO). He's averaging 1.23 SO per IP, and most of those have been swinging.

Look for Latos to start next year in A (Midland), and if he does well, quickly move up to the desolate pitching waste land that is CAL League (then we can see what the kid is really made of, he will be 20 all year).

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

he's been ridiculously good

real shame his year was derailed by the injury (and the re-injury he got from trying to come back too soon)…….i think he’s one of the best pure arms in the lower minors and was looking forward to seeing him in full-season ball

you have to assume he was sent to SS and not Low A because Eugene is now in the playoffs – he was/is clearly ready for more advanced ball

i think you meant fort wayne for him next year (low A) to start with……….wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a quick call to the CAL or even all the way to AA if he continues to dominate like he has the last month……..sky is truly the limit here – definite ace potential

by Wheelhouse on Sep 4, 2008 4:18 PM EDT reply actions

Whoops.

Yup, Fort Wayne is what I meant. Thanks for the read!

4 potential plus pitches….crazy good.

by soccerman0 on Sep 4, 2008 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

Big Latos fan. I firmly believe he’d be among the games best SP prospects had he not gotten hurt earlier. I think he would’ve made a Jordan Walden-type ascension to high A this year if only he stayed healthy.

Both Latos and Michael Main of the Rangers’ system are two guys who I think many prospect watchers will sleep on only because they didn’t accumulate the big stats this year. But in terms of overall ceiling, pure talent and sheer abilty, I don’t think too many guys can match those two.

BTW, I think Latos will be 21 all year next year, not 20 as stated in the original post. Still, a great pitching prospect.

by dkny22 on Sep 5, 2008 12:54 PM EDT reply actions

Man I just keep making mistakes...

Thanks for the read! I think the Main/Latos comp is a good one; both have solid raw stuff with plus fastball’s and freakish athleticism that will allow them to develop their pitches even more. Main or Beavan?

by soccerman0 on Sep 5, 2008 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions