{"id":701803,"date":"2026-06-13T13:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T13:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/701803\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T13:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T13:49:08","slug":"zebby-matthews-is-close-to-breaking-out-but-one-major-issue-remains-twins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/701803\/","title":{"rendered":"Zebby Matthews Is Close to Breaking Out, But One Major Issue Remains – Twins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThere\u2019s a lot to like with Zebby Matthews<\/a> as a player.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tFor a pitcher that\u2019s still on the younger side at just 26 years old, Matthews possesses the one fundamental trait that organizations covet the most: the ability to throw strikes consistently. Throughout his professional career, he\u2019s shown outstanding control of the strike zone, limiting walks and forcing hitters to earn their way on base.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMatthews owns a career 2.6 BB\/9 rate, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio sits at an impressive 3.66-to-1. More often than not, that\u2019s a formula for becoming a quality major league starter, and pitchers with those kinds of numbers find success.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBut there\u2019s been something else that has plagued Matthews since arriving in the majors back in 2024.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the first couple years of his big league career, Matthews was allowing far too many hits. Across 117 innings between 2024 and 2025, he surrendered a staggering 145 hits. That comes out to 11.2 hits per nine innings, which is an alarming number for any starting pitcher.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tA lot of that damage was tied directly to the long ball. Of those 145 hits, 23 left the yard. So the hope coming into this season was that Matthews would be able to limit the total number of hits he allowed, but especially the home runs. If he could do that, the results would likely follow.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tFast forward to mid-June, and to his credit, Matthews has done a better job of limiting overall contact. He\u2019s allowing fewer than one hit per inning, his line-drive rate has dropped substantially, and he\u2019s generating more ground balls than he did previously.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe problem is that while the line drives have decreased, the fly balls have increased. And with more fly balls have come more home runs.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThrough just 36 innings with the Twins this season, Matthews has already allowed eight homers, including three on Thursday against the Tigers. Now, through 31 career major league starts, Matthews has allowed 31 home runs. That simply isn\u2019t a recipe for long-term success.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSo what\u2019s causing the quality-of-contact issues?\n<\/p>\n

\n\tI think it starts with the fact that his four-seam fastball has simply not been a very effective pitch. While Matthews’ secondary offerings continue to generate swings and misses, the fastball has lagged behind. Opposing hitters haven’t had much trouble handling it, and the whiff rate on the pitch sits at just 12% this season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s a concerning number considering how frequently he uses it. Matthews throws the four-seamer roughly 38% of the time, and when hitters put it in play, they\u2019re doing damage. Opponents own a .500 slugging percentage on fastballs put in play against him this season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tA big reason for that comes down to location. Matthews’ fastball, along with his slider and curveball (his two main secondary pitches), are catching far too much of the plate.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tI mentioned his low walk rate earlier \u2013 Matthews has outstanding control of the strike zone. However, command of the strike zone is a different conversation entirely.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tControl is the ability to throw strikes. Command is the ability to throw quality strikes. And far too often, Matthews’ pitches are finishing out over the heart of the plate.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThursday\u2019s outing against Detroit served as a perfect example. The first home run he allowed came on a 2-1 curveball that was left right over the middle of the plate to Spencer Torkelson<\/a>. The second was a 3-0 fastball that I\u2019m not sure could\u2019ve been more center-cut, and the third was a first-pitch changeup that stayed elevated in the zone and got punished.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\tTORK BOMB pic.twitter.com\/jsqyVpFvQR<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\u2014 Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\tGleyBOMB ? pic.twitter.com\/7NI7zJpFHb<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\u2014 Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tNone of those pitches were located well, and all three mistakes wound up in the seats. That\u2019s been the story for Matthews throughout much of his major league career so far.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHe pounds the strike zone. In fact, he may pound it a little too much. The encouraging part is that there\u2019s still a tremendous amount of upside here.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe home run problem is significant, but it also feels fixable. Matthews has a deep arsenal. He misses bats with his secondary pitches, he limits walks, and he works efficiently while consistently getting ahead in counts.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThose are all traits that successful starters possess. The next step is simply improving his command within the strike zone.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf Matthews can do a better job of keeping his pitches off the barrel and limiting hard contact, there\u2019s still plenty of reason to believe in his long-term outlook. The ingredients are all there.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe strike-throwing ability, the swing-and-miss stuff, and the ability to work deep into games are all things Zebby Matthews has. Now it\u2019s just about refining his location.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf he can get the home runs under control, a potential frontline starter is still very much within his range of outcomes. That\u2019s obviously easier said than done, but we\u2019ve also seen him dominate when teams aren\u2019t squaring him up. The gap between where Matthews is now and where he can be might just come down to a few misplaced pitches each start.\n<\/p>\n