Orioles Minor League Monday: Non-drafted submarine reliever succeeding in O's farm system
Mattaliano Finally Got His Chance
As the First-Year Player Draft drew to a close last June, pitcher Mick Mattaliano was excited. The Virginia Commonwealth right-hander was coming off a big senior year and felt confident he would be drafted, even if it didn't happen until the late rounds.
But the draft came and went, 1,453 players were selected over 50 rounds, but Mattaliano never got a call. No team drafted him.
"For a while it looked bleak," Mattaliano said. "It was looking like my baseball days might be over."
His pitching coach at VCU called several Big League teams to see if he could get Mattaliano a tryout. No one said yes.
A few weeks after the draft, O's scout Dean Albany was told about Mattaliano by Vince Elser, another O's scout who had coached Mattaliano as a youth. At about the same time, Chris Jackson, who had played college ball with Mattaliano, told Albany there was a pitcher out there he should look at.
So on a Saturday in July last summer, Mattaliano drove the three hours from his home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania to Blair High in Montgomery County where Albany was coaching his Oriolelander team.
"He met me at Blair and threw for me," Albany said. "I talked to him before he threw and what an impressive young guy. He thanked me ten times for giving him a chance. He said, 'I just want someone to tell me I'm not good enough and I'll forget about my dream.'"
As Albany was watching the submarine righty fire strike after strike, his phone rang. It was O's director of scouting Joe Jordan. Jordan said the club was short a pitcher at Aberdeen and did he know of anyone they could sign. Albany told him he was watching a kid throw well right then and there. Jordan said, "Sign him."
As a result of that tryout and phone call, the kid who no one wanted, was suddenly going to get a chance to realize his dream and play pro ball.
After he pitched to an ERA of 1.69 in 11 games with Aberdeen last year, Mattaliano moved up to Delmarva this year where he is having a breakout season and is among the South Atlantic League leaders in saves.
Mattaliano is 2-0 with 17 saves in 19 chances and an ERA of 1.01. In 26 2/3 innings, he has given up just 12 hits and four walks, with an opponent batting average of .135. As of Sunday, June 29, he was working on a streak of 19 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
When Mattaliano showed up as a freshman at VCU, he was a pitcher with a conventional over the top delivery. Rams pitching coach Mark McQueen convinced Mick to try the submarine delivery. By his senior season he was pitching to an ERA of 1.78.
While most submarine pitchers don't throw faster than the low 80's, Mattaliano can live with that. "You trade off the velocity for the deception and movement you get."
"What an amazing story," Albany said. "There are, what. 1,500 players drafted, and no one took him. He threw 38 of 40 pitches for strikes that day at Blair High. If he had thrown just 25, I might not have signed him. Submariners are hard to scout, you don't have much to compare them to."
While Mattaliano's great season is going somewhat under the radar, some O's brass by now must be taking note of the 23-year-old getting everyone out at Delmarva.
"You never know what he might be able to do. Right now he's getting everybody out and when they do hit it, they hit it on the ground," Albany said.
Albany says Mattaliano is very similar to the O's Chad Bradford. They are similar in size, arm motion and velocity.
"Of course we hope he turns out to be another Chad Bradford," Albany said.
Mattaliano credits his parents with helping him chase his dream to play pro ball. "They just wouldn't let me give up," he says.
In less than a year, the young man who couldn't get a team to give him a tryout is one of the top relievers in the South Atlantic League, with hopes of moving up the O's Minor League ladder and surprising even more people along the way.
Around the Minors
The Orioles finally promoted catcher Matt Wieters, last year's first-round draft pick, to Double-A Bowie. In his first two games in the Eastern League, he went 3-6 with a two-run double. This past Tuesday, Wieters was 1-2 with an RBI in the Carolina League-California League All-Star game.
Also in Bowie, right-hander David Hernandez has given up just two runs on three hits over his last three starts, covering 18 1/3 innings. He is 5-1, 2.83 on the year.
Frederick righty Jake Arrieta has been selected to play for the USA team in the Futures Game. Arrieta is 5-3, 2.88, in 15 starts for the Keys.
Norfolk lefty reliever Alberto Castillo has not been scored on in his last 11 games, covering 12 2/3 innings. The 32-year-old Cuban native has pitched to an ERA of 1.19 on the season for the Tides.
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