Mat Batts -- 2015

[Shane Wahl]

Mat Batts
DOB: 7-6-91 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 190
Position: SP
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
Acquired: Drafted by Twins in 17th round of 2014 draft out of UNC-Wilmington

 

2014 statistics (GCL/ELZ/CDR):

 

60.2 IP, 1.78 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 1.0 BB/9 (67/7), 0.775 WHIP

 

2015 statistics (CDR):

 

24.2 IP, 2.19 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 (24/5), 0.851 WHIP

 

Batts was dominant in his first year of professional ball, playing in three different levels in the Twins system. He is under six feet tall, so there might be some concern about sticking around as a starter, but so far the results have been very good. He might hit 90 sometimes with his fastball, but he has solid secondary pitches. I would like to see him challenged in Fort Myers soon.

 

I hope he doesn't become the left-handed B.J. Hermsen.

 

2015 prediction:

 

The Twins promote him by mid-June to Fort Myers and he pitches fairly well, perhaps getting some time in the bullpen as well. 150 IP, 3.35 ERA, 8 K/9, 2 BB/9, 1.15 WHIP.

 

 

[Shane Wahl]

In his last start, Batts pitched six innings, giving up one earned run. He struck out four and walked one.

 

His ERA is now down to 2.05.

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

Thanks for picking up Batts. He was too good not to get an adoption. I am excited to follow his season. Being a short lefty starter makes him pretty unique in the system.

 

So far he is putting up some good numbers. Strong AVG, WHIP, and K/BB. His numbers are actually pretty similar to Hu's in Ft. Myers.

[Seth Stohs]

Mat has written two articles for far for Twins Daily.

 

The first was about the Kernels' reading program.

The second was about having Ricky Nolasco rehabbing with them.

[Shane Wahl]

Batts only lasted 4 innings in his start this week, giving up five hits, four walks, and two earned runs.

 

I think it will be a slow and steady move through the system, but he should be in Fort Myers within a couple months.

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

Big start by Batts last night. 12 Ks in 6 IP. It's pretty cool to see two tough lefties (Batts & Gonsalves) have such good results in Cedar Rapids. If Thorpe hadn't gone under knife, imagine a trio of killer lefties. Good news for the organization. 

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

Congrats to Batts on the promotion! I'll be excited to see his start tonight against a good Charlotte team.

[Shane Wahl]

Batts was great in his first Fort Myers start, going seven innings and giving up only one earned run. He struck out three and walked one. We will see what happens to his K rate now after the promotion.

 

 

[Shane Wahl]

Batts just wrote another piece for Twins Daily:

 

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/players-perspective-the-mlb-draft-r3755

 

Stats at Fort Myers:

 

12.2 IP, 2.13 ERA, 10 strikeouts, one walk, 1.184 WHIP.

 

Batts is putting together a strong season so far overall.

[Shane Wahl]

23.2 IP, 1.90 ERA, 15 strikeouts, two walks, and a 1.056 WHIP in Fort Myers. Batts didn't come out of nowhere, but he is a surprising bright spot this year as we get to mid-season.

[Shane Wahl]

After a rough outing on the 28th, Batts returned to form on July 4th, going six strong innings with no runs given up.

 

2015 A stats:

 

40.2 IP, 2.21 ERA, 44 K, 11 BB, 1.033 WHIP

 

2015 A+ stats:

 

40.1 IP, 2.01 ERA, 34 K, 6 BB, 1.066 WHIP

 

Batts now has a 9.2 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 141.2 career IP.

[Shane Wahl]

He also is celebrating his 24th birthday today!

[Shane Wahl]

59.2 IP, 1.96 ERA, 55 K, 10 BB, and 1.056 WHIP.

 

Batts continues is very strong season with more great performances in July.

 

I see no reason not to consider him as a lock for the Chattanooga rotation to start 2016.

[Shane Wahl]

Seth named Batts starting pitcher of the month of July, and for good reason. He had a roughish outing the other day, but he is still having a remarkable year. 111.1 innings total, 105 strikeouts, and just 23 walks.

[Mike Sixel]

Congrats!

[Shane Wahl]

13 more innings, 14 strikeout, and three walks. He will be ready for 150+ innings in 2016, which puts him on a good pace. I think Batts can emerge as Hu's replacement in terms of a second-tier guy to get excited about.

[Shane Wahl]

Left-handed Tyler Duffey ceiling right now?

[Shane Wahl]

2015 wrap up:

 

Splitting time between A and A+ ball:

 

141.1 innings pitched, 2.61 ERA, 129 K, 28 BB, 1.097 WHIP.

 

This was a big breakout season. It is encouraging that he didn't miss a beat when moving to Fort Myers.

 

2016 projected start: AA Chattanooga.

ETA: 2017

[Shane Wahl]

Prediction was:

"150 IP, 3.35 ERA, 8 K/9, 2 BB/9, 1.15 WHIP"

 

Reality:

 

141.1 innings pitched, 2.61 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 1.097 WHIP.

 

He outperformed the prediction slightly. Again, great year!

[Seth Stohs]

Moments ago, Mat Batts officially announced (Via Twitter) that he is retiring from baseball. He tweeted:

 

 

Excited to officially announce that I have accepted a reporting job for The Dispatch in Lexington, NC. Follow along @LexDispatchMB

 

I assumed that meant an offseason job, as he has been covering high school football for a newspaper in his home of North Carolina this offseason. A second tweet told more:

 

 

I will never forget the lessons I learned and people I met playing the game of baseball. Can't wait to see what the next chapter holds.

 

We certainly wish him the best as well.

[Mike Sixel]

Wow! Good luck to him, changes are hard, and this is a pretty big one. He seems excited, wish him well.

[ashbury]

I don't get it. Age 23, high-A, good stats. No sign of an injury. On track to reach the majors at age 25 or 26 - not ridiculously old, if so. A coach told him he has no shot at the majors, ever?

[jokin]

 

Moments ago, Mat Batts officially announced (Via Twitter) that he is retiring from baseball. He tweeted:

 

 

I assumed that meant an offseason job, as he has been covering high school football for a newspaper in his home of North Carolina this offseason. A second tweet told more:

 

 

We certainly wish him the best as well.

 

Wow. Could there be alot more to the story than this?  It's not like a reporter's job pays enough to make that an alluring-enough alternative at age 23. And he could always fall back on writing somewhere down the road. Even if someone with the Twins showed him where he was on the depth chart, wasn't his performance indicative enough that he'd end up having a shot with someone, at some point?  Even if he only gathered one year of MLB service time- that still would have netted him well over half a million dollars, plus veterans benefits.  And what about an eventual possible opportunity of playing overseas?  

 

Strange.

[Mike Sixel]

The story he wrote makes it clear, he learned that other things in life were more interesting to him. Nothing sinister, just realized he wanted other things in life.

[Craig Arko]

Sounds like the young man has a good idea of what he wants. Wish I had been that clear-headed at 23.

[ashbury]

Sounds like the young man has a good idea of what he wants. Wish I had been that clear-headed at 23.

He just turned 24. That might be the difference.

[Craig Arko]

 

He just turned 24. That might be the difference.

[jokin]

 

The story he wrote makes it clear, he learned that other things in life were more interesting to him. Nothing sinister, just realized he wanted other things in life.

 

Not sure that anyone has implied anything "sinister" here- unless you mean than AJs speculation that a Twins pitching coach might have sat him down and told him his path to the majors was blocked. All I'm saying is that coming to the conclusion he came to must have more of a story behind it than what is currently public. 

 

I get that someone might just wake up one morning and decide he's had enough, but logically if he were to think it through... putting in a few extra years into his late 20s doing something he's clearly already good at, and that continues to put him in potentially high demand with a very rare and unique skillset... all in exchange for possibly a big 7-figure net payday soon down the road- certainly would have helped to set himself up better for the "other things in life" that were more interesting to him.

[Mike Sixel]

Working in a job you don't want to be in, to maybe get money so later in life you can maybe do the things you want.....imo.....that's the problem with American's and their relationship to work and why we are generally less happy than other nations' workers. YMMV, of course.

[ashbury]

I get that someone might just wake up one morning and decide he's had enough, but logically if he were to think it through...

If you read his article, it's not just something he woke up to last week and turned in his resignation letter to the boss.

 

And I think it's unfair to say he didn't think it through. He clearly did. And came to a different conclusion than expected, due perhaps to different base axioms in his life than you or I might have.