While the rest of the Stanford players drafted in the 2022 MLB Draft have signed with their respective clubs, left handed pitcher Quinn Mathews has elected to not sign with the Tampa Bay Rays and come back to The Farm for his senior year. Mathews was the 584th overall pick in the 19th round, so he was picked towards the very end of the 20-round draft. When he was drafted, I wrote there was a chance he wouldn’t sign, so I can’t say I’m surprised by this news. It makes a lot of sense for him to come back as he’ll be featured more prominently as a senior and have a more consistent role, two things that should boost his draft stock in 2023.
For Stanford, having Mathews back for next season is huge. When you add it all up, he was the best pitcher on their team this past season: 9-2, 3.08 ERA, and 9 saves. In whatever role he was asked to perform in, first as a starter and later as a reliever, he was fantastic. He was the one guy who Stanford knew they had to throw at some point in a weekend series. They wouldn’t have reached the College World Series for the second year in a row without him.
By having Mathews back, Stanford will have a guy who they can reliably use as their Friday night starter as well as a guy who also knows how to play the relief role if needed. Stanford is going to be returning a good amount of bats in 2023, but the pitching is where there are more question marks and concerns. If Mathews has the kind of season that he’s hoping to have, that’s going to be a real shot in the arm to the Cardinal pitching staff.
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