Matthews has looked the part so far.
The Minnesota Twins started 2026 with big questions about their starting rotation, and Zebby Matthews keeps making it harder to ignore his name.
The 25-year-old right-hander opened the year at Triple-A St.
Paul after losing the final rotation spot in spring training, but Minnesota recalled him on May 14, and he has been one of the most dependable arms on the staff since.
His latest outing came Tuesday night against the Houston Astros, where he threw a career-high 100 pitches and held his stuff and velocity into the sixth inning.
A Career-High Workload Against Houston
Matthews went six innings, gave up two earned runs on five hits, walked nobody, and struck out six.
Minnesota lost the game 2-1 thanks to a two-run homer from Isaac Paredes, but the result wasn't on him.
He pounded the strike zone and stretched his pitch count further than he ever had in the majors before.
The outing dropped his 2026 ERA to 1.38 across 13 innings, well off the 5.56 mark he had carried through his major league career entering the year.
What Matthews Said
Postgame, he sounded happy with how the night played out and what it could mean for his role going forward.
"It's encouraging when you can do that, you feel good," Matthews said. "Throughout the whole start, I was able to hold the stuff and the velo. So, yeah, we'll keep building with that."
In past seasons, his fastball tended to back up around the fifth inning, often dipping to 92-93 by then.
Two starts in, that hasn't been an issue, and he is still sitting near 95 mph late in outings.
The endurance piece is what was missing during his earlier MLB looks.
Why Matthews Could Matter for Minnesota
The Twins are 22-27 and sitting third in the American League Central, with a rotation that has been hit hard by injuries to Pablo Lopez, Taj Bradley, and Mick Abel.
Simeon Woods Richardson got moved to the bullpen recently after a stretch of ugly starts, which leaves real openings behind Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober.
Matthews is the obvious internal answer to plug one of them.
His arm angle drop has been the biggest tweak.
He worked at 42 degrees back in 2024, came down to 40 last year, and is throwing closer to 35 this season, which has given him sharper pitch shapes and more swing-and-miss in the zone.
If he keeps stacking outings like this one, the Twins get a piece they desperately need through what has been a frustrating stretch of baseball.
For a team still trying to figure out who it wants to be, Matthews has handed a thin rotation something real to build around.
