On Tuesday, Stanford junior left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews went #584 overall to the Tampa Bay Rays, in the 19th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Mathews had a 9-2 record and a 3.08 ERA. He also had nine saves on the year, making him the only pitcher in college baseball with at least nine wins and nine saves.

Mathews was used in various ways over the course of the season as his statistics indicate. He started out as a starting pitcher and later was moved to the bullpen. While playing both roles hurt his ability to pick up more post-season accolades, his move to the bullpen really did save Stanford’s season. Without him switching to that role, Stanford wouldn’t have gotten back to the College World Series for a second consecutive year.

As far as what Mathews will bring to the Rays, assuming he’ll sign, the Rays are getting a guy who is used to pitching in a variety of situations. He’s excelled both as a starter and as a reliever. That makes him a very attractive talent. When he was on his game, he was the best pitcher on this Stanford team. He was the secret weapon that David Esquer knew he had to use at some point in each post-season round that they had.

While the rest of the Stanford players who got drafted should begin their pro journeys now, Mathews is the one guy who could actually decide it’s in his best interest to come back for one more year. If he comes back for another year, I think odds are good he’ll at least get drafted somewhere in the 20 rounds of the 2023 MLB Draft and since he got drafted in the 19th round, it’s not like he has a lot to lose in coming back. One of the things that hurt him this past season was that he didn’t have a more consistent role. If he moves back into a starter role in 2023 and has a great senior year, he could see himself get selected in Day 2 (rounds 3-10) or much earlier in Day 3.

My guess is the Rays are well aware that he might decide to come back, but they still felt it was worth taking a flyer on him and seeing if he’ll commit now. The interesting thing about the MLB draft is that players don’t have to declare for the draft. Teams just select whoever they want among those who are draft eligible. Mathews having finished his junior year was draft eligible. It’ll be interesting to see what Mathews decides to do and whether nor he’ll be back on The Farm for a senior year.

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