Brian Matusz was the fourth overall selection in the MLB Amateur Draft this year. He is an LHP out of the University of San Diego with the following arsenal:

• Fastball: 88-91 mph (max 93-94) with good sink.


• Slider: 80-81 mph - more like a cutter than a slider - uses it to back hitters off the plate.


• Curve: 76-80 mph - his go-to out pitch; he throws it for strikes and generates plenty of swinging strikes with it.


• Changeup: 81-83 mph - another go-to out pitch vs. platoon advantaged hitters; features good fade and depth.

Matusz's biggest strength is that all of his pitches grade out at average or better and he throws them all for strikes in any given count. Though his velocity was a tick down this year, people generally believe his velocity will stay in the low 90's, more than adequate for a LHP with four good pitches.

Read more about his mechanics after the jump...

Arm Action

Though I'm not a fan of his tall-and-fall-esque mechanics, he has a decent arm action that gets up on time. His arm has a slight pause, and he does take it laterally behind his body to some degree, but in general I don't mind what I see here. What I really like in his delivery is the intent to throw the ball hard and generate good momentum on a downwards plane towards the plate. You can see it in these frames:

Overall, I give him an Average grade.

Tempo

Matsuz's tall-and-fall delivery limits his tempo downhill, which isn't too good. However, as you can see in the clip above, he has serious intent after he gets going, which mitigates a lot of the bad in this phase. Average.

Ball Release

Matusz reverse-rotates the shoulders after release and points the PAS shoulder at the target, which is very good. He doesn't leave his PAS foot on the rubber; also a very good sign. Very Good.

Followthrough

Matusz has a firm front side and glove arm, and tucks it in at release. Though it flies back some after release, he does decelerate the arm uniformly around his body and doesn't actively brake his arm. Very Good.

Overall, I think Matusz has decent enough mechanics. His slow tempo might limit his velocity a bit, but he does have an explosive move into footplant, which I like. Now all he has to do is sign!