Steven Matz
32-Year-Old
15-Day IL
Injury Back
Est. Return 5/18/2024
2024 Stats
W-L
1-2
ERA
6.18
WHIP
1.73
K
17
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
The general narrative is that Matz's four-year, $44 million contract with the Cardinals was a big blunder, but he quietly began flipping the script last season. The first year of the deal (2022) was definitely a disaster, as he struggled to a 5.25 ERA over only 48 innings (10 starts, five relief appearances) while battling serious shoulder and knee injuries. A lat strain ended his 2023 campaign several weeks early, but Matz had a 3.86 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 105 total innings when healthy. He secured a locked-in rotation spot down the stretch and registered a 1.86 ERA and 38:7 K:BB over his final seven starts. It's difficult to project how this might all translate into the 2024 season, but the 32-year-old southpaw will essentially be free in most fantasy leagues. Read Past Outlooks
Has protruding disc in back
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that an MRI showed that Matz has a "protruding disc" in his lower back, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Matz was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday after sustaining a lower-back injury in Tuesday's loss to the Tigers. Matz received a pain-killing injection for the injury Friday, and the southpaw will be reevaluated early next week. He went 1-2 over six starts with a 6.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP before landing on the injured list.
Matz was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday after sustaining a lower-back injury in Tuesday's loss to the Tigers. Matz received a pain-killing injection for the injury Friday, and the southpaw will be reevaluated early next week. He went 1-2 over six starts with a 6.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP before landing on the injured list.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
84
Last 10 Games
84
Last 5 Games
84
How many pitches does Steven Matz generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Steven Matz generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-14%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-24%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .241 | 36 | 12 | 35 | 3 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .279 | 133 | 41 | 160 | 19 | |||
2024vs Left | .261 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |||
2024vs Right | .344 | 14 | 9 | 31 | 3 | |||
2023vs Left | .215 | 19 | 7 | 17 | 2 | |||
2023vs Right | .275 | 79 | 25 | 91 | 9 | |||
2022vs Left | .279 | 14 | 3 | 12 | 1 | |||
2022vs Right | .250 | 40 | 7 | 38 | 7 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-10%
ERA at Home
2024
-13%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 4.34 | 1.34 | 85.0 | 8.5 | 2.8 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 4.80 | 1.40 | 95.2 | 8.4 | 2.5 | ||||
2024Home | 6.75 | 1.50 | 9.1 | 6.8 | 3.9 | ||||
2024Away | 5.89 | 1.85 | 18.1 | 4.9 | 3.4 | ||||
2023Home | 3.19 | 1.30 | 53.2 | 8.2 | 3.2 | ||||
2023Away | 4.56 | 1.36 | 51.1 | 8.6 | 2.3 | ||||
2022Home | 6.14 | 1.36 | 22.0 | 9.8 | 1.2 | ||||
2022Away | 4.50 | 1.15 | 26.0 | 10.4 | 2.4 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Steven Matz compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
1.55K/9
5.5BB/9
3.6HR/9
1.0Fastball
93.9 mphERA
6.18WHIP
1.73BABIP
.358GB/FB
1.10Left On Base
59.4%Exit Velocity
81.2 mphBarrels/BBE
3.7%Spin Rate
2207 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
19.1%Swinging Strike
7.8%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
On trade block
The Cardinals have let other teams know that Matz is available via trade, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
ANALYSIS
Matz's 2023 season ended prematurely due to a left lat strain and he's been limited to only 153 innings during his two years in St. Louis due to injuries. The southpaw also has $25 million remaining on his contract over the next two years, some of which would likely need to be absorbed by St. Louis in order to facilitate a trade. Matz pitched pretty well when healthy in 2023, particularly during his final seven starts which saw him collect a 1.86 ERA.
Matz's 2023 season ended prematurely due to a left lat strain and he's been limited to only 153 innings during his two years in St. Louis due to injuries. The southpaw also has $25 million remaining on his contract over the next two years, some of which would likely need to be absorbed by St. Louis in order to facilitate a trade. Matz pitched pretty well when healthy in 2023, particularly during his final seven starts which saw him collect a 1.86 ERA.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Fantasy managers hoped that Matz's signing with St. Louis would be a great match for his pitching style and the defensive prowess of the Cardinals. That never materialized because knee and shoulder injuries limited Matz to 48 innings of work and his gopheritis returned after a one year hiatus in the AL East of all places. Matz's 21% K-BB% is the only positive sign of the outcomes of his 2022 effort and a significant gap between his actual and expected ERA point to the potential for him to have a rebound in 2023 if he can get more grounders. He still retains three pitches with whiff rates above 25%, so if you squint at the numbers, there is an Andrew Heaney-like path toward that rebound season. You cannot be faulted for giving this enigmatic lefty one more chance on your fantasy roster, especially with his market value much lower than it was at this point last season.
More Fantasy News
Lands on IL with lower-back strain
The Cardinals placed Matz on the 15-day injured list Friday, retroactive to May 1, with a lower-back strain.
ANALYSIS
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Undergoing MRI on injured back
Matz will undergo an MRI on his injured back Thursday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Pitched through back injury Tuesday
Matz pitched through a lower-back injury during Tuesday's loss to the Tigers, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
ANALYSIS
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Early exit against Detroit
Matz escaped with a no-decision in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Tigers, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks over 3.1 innings in an 11-6 loss. He struck out only one.
ANALYSIS
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Cardinals-Tigers postponed
Matz and the Cardinals won't play Monday against the Tigers after the game was postponed due to inclement weather in Detroit.
ANALYSIS
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