Mets pitching prospect Matt Bowman is best known for his unusual delivery and his ability to throw strikes.
On Thursday night against the Nationals – the team he grew up rooting for – Bowman did just that, making quick work of Washington in five innings.
Bowman needed only 46 pitches to get through five innings on Thursday. He threw 32 strikes and allowed only two hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
“He was extremely impressive against a very good team,” Terry Collins said after the game. “I can understand why he’s very much liked around here and how he showed up in this camp. From what I saw tonight, the command of his stuff, the poise, he’s a pretty impressive-looking pitcher.”
Bowman has actually thrown more innings above Double-A than Steven Matz, which could theoretically make Bowman an earlier call-up if a need arises. However, Bowman isn’t on the 40-man roster yet, so it’s not clear if the Mets would make such a move right now, given how close Matz and Noah Syndergaard – both of which are on the 40-man roster – are to the big leagues.
That doesn’t diminish the organization’s opinion of Bowman. I’ve been hearing rave reviews about Bowman up and down the organization for a long while now, and in his four appearances this spring, he’s shown exactly why the team likes him so much. He isn’t overpowering, but his motion makes his fastball sneak up on the hitter, he’s got great command of his breaking pitches, and despite not being that tall, he has great downward movement on his stuff. And, as I said, he just doesn’t walk anyone.
Eventually this stuff will play in the big leagues, and the Mets will have to figure out what to do with it at this level. It may just be a matter of where he will fit on this staff…
Bowman, 23, went 10-8 with a 3.21 ERA and 124 strikeouts and only 36 walks in 134 1/3 innings pitched between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas last year.
If you want to learn more about Bowman, read Rich MacLeod’s story about him here.
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