“During my first two starts, I was rushing things a little too much,” Matusz told Baseball Daily Digest after the Keys game on Saturday. “I’ve been a little too anxious and tried to do too much. Tomorrow I’m going to go out there, throw strikes and get ahead in the count and let guys put balls in play.”

The Orioles top pitching prospect threw 96 pitches, 67 for strikes, on Sunday. He seemed to gain focus as the game went along. Overall, Matusz had seven ground-ball and three fly outs and averaged 3.4 pitches per batter.

“My focus has been on throwing the fastball for strikes earlier in the count and trying to get ground balls earlier on,” he said. “My focus (on April 19) will be on the fastball. I’ll work it in and out on both sides of the plate.”

Matusz’s 11.34 K/9 is among the league leaders in the Carolina League and he has yielded one homerun in 15.2 innings. These excellent results and the 22-year-old’s knack for getting out of jams indicate he is making a smooth transition to professional baseball.

“(The difference between college and professional baseball) is different scenery,” Matusz said. “It’s still the same game. There hasn’t been a huge difference in the hitters so far. I’m just trying to get ahead in the counts and throwing strikes. That’s what I didn’t do in my first two starts, which is something I need to work on. I need to avoid getting deep into counts, which just makes it harder for me.”

The ease of Matusz’s transition may be explained in part by the responsibility he was given in college, where pitches are generally called by the coaching staff and not the catcher.

“In college I had the right to shake off whenever I wanted to. So, I did shake off a lot and I threw what I wanted to throw,” the University of San Diego alumnus said. “So, it hasn’t been a huge difference and luckily the catcher (at Frederick) Caleb Joseph is very smart behind the plate and we’ve worked together very well.”

There's one good thing about the MLB slotting system. I love the way all the players start to sign once a few set the market.

(Photo courtesy of the Tucson Citizen)

Hype Up the Story Here!

From the A's press release (if you didn't already know Jemile's story)…

Weeks earned first team All-ACC honors this year at the University of Miami and batted .363 with 13 home runs and 62 RBI in 63 games.  He also had 17 doubles and five triples for a .641 slugging percentage and was successful in 22 of 23 stolen base attempts.  The 21-year old junior was also named a Louisville Slugger First Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and is the brother of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Rickie Weeks.  The switch-hitter was originally drafted by the Brewers in the eighth round of the 2005 draft but did not sign and attended Miami.  He is the Hurricanes all-time leader in triples (18).  Weeks was selected with the 12th overall pick in the draft, the earliest the A’s have drafted a player since 1999 when they selected Barry Zito with the ninth overall pick.