On a team filled with storylines like Freddie Freeman going from a severe case of COVID-19 to MVP favorite, or Adam Duvall going from triple-A last year to one of the top home run hitters in the league this year, Tyler Matzek might have been the best story of them all. The lefty reliever came into spring training as a feel good story who was long shot to make the roster, with his last major league appearance coming in 2015. The former first round pick had gotten a bad case of the yips after a promising debut season for Colorado in 2014. Matzek entirely lost his command due to these yips. He made a commitment to himself to fight to get back to the show, and this was his chance. His career had come full circle. After having a stellar MLB debut against the Braves, he would have a chance to be a part of helping the Braves make a deep playoff run.
He looked quite good in spring training, and was beginning to get some buzz to make the opening day roster, but then everything shut down due to the pandemic. Summer camp rolled around, and Matzek continued to look good, so he did indeed make the opening day roster. It’s a very good thing he did, because he turned in a spectacular season for Atlanta, and looks like he could be a big piece of the bullpen for years to come, still at only 29 years old.
What went right?
Almost everything. Not only did Tyler Matzek make it back to the Major League, he took it by storm. Matzek was a top 15 reliever in baseball by fWAR, posting a sparkling 2.79 ERA over 29.0 innings, with a 1.92 FIP and 3.00 xFIP, while striking out a ludicrous 13.34 batters per 9 innings and walking only 3.10/9. Additionally he only gave up one home run all season. He was even better in the postseason, raising his strikeout rate to 14.54/9, keeping his walk rate about the same, and only giving up one run (a home run) over 8.2 postseason innings, including some huge moments. Matzek went from a low leverage reliever at the beginning of the season, to one of it’s most trusted arms by the end.
What went wrong?
Not much, since he only allowed runs in 4 regular season appearances. The only two outings where he really got roughed up were coincidentally both against the Washington Nationals, including one horrid 0.1 inning outing in which he gave up 6 hits and 4 earned runs in which he was hurt by some bad BABIP luck, and another less horrid outing in which he gave up 2 runs in one inning.
Outlook for 2021
Matzek will almost certainly be on the roster to open 2021 barring an injury, since he hasn’t even reached arbitration yet. His yips experience means that he hasn’t been able to accrue much service time, and is therefore not a free agent until 2025 (!). The good news for the Braves is that this means that they can keep what appears to be a high leverage reliever for very cheap over the next four seasons. Matzek is only scheduled to make $563.5k in 2021, so there isn’t really any chance of him being cut as a penny-pinching move this offseason, even with COVID. Unless his yips come back, Matzek figures to be a major piece in the Braves bullpen for a long time if he is healthy.