Brian Matusz’s strong rookie season made the former No. 4 overall pick look like a long-term building block for the Orioles, but instead he’s taken several big steps backward this season, getting rocked for 25 runs in 26 innings, spending time on the disabled list, and then being demoted to Triple-A in late June.
Matusz is now trying to work his way back to the majors and it’s not going particularly well, with reports of decreased velocity accompanying a 4.83 ERA at Triple-A.
Matusz spoke pretty candidly about his struggles with Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, saying that he wasn’t “mentally prepared” for the Orioles coaching staff asking him to “change things I’ve done my whole life.” Here’s more from the 24-year-old left-hander:
Zrebiec notes that some within the Orioles organization think Matusz wasn’t physically prepared either, questioning his offseason preparation. Matusz admitted that he needs to add more strength, but told Zrebiec that “it was all mental":
Buck Showalter defended Adair and Connor, saying: “If coaches see something that’s going to be a challenge for somebody going forward, they try to fix it, and you listen to people who have a long track record of success in the big leagues.”
Matusz listened to them and, right or wrong, clearly thinks that played a huge role in his sophomore slump.