What does anyone know about Matt Wright?

by daveyork on Nov 16, 2006 11:27 PM EST

From the Diaries... Breaking News as Royals sign Matt Wright

I noticed that the Royals signed a minor league free agent named Matt Wright. He was highly thought of in the Braves organization. In 2006, he was 10-8 3.47 ERA, 137.1 IP, 131 Hits, 57BB 118K and 1.17 WHIP combined AA and AAA. At just AA alone, Wright was 7-3, 2.22 89IP 74H 28BB 84Ks and 1.15 WHIP. He may have been one of the Braves minor league pitchers of the year - not sure on that one. He is 6'4'' 230lbs. and will be 25 on opening day 2007.

Some of the fans on the Braves blog Talking Chop were disappointed he got away. One would have had him in the Braves top 20 prospects. For an organization like the Royals who are desperate for starting pitching, Wright sounds like a guy who might be a sleeper. His AA numbers are better than Lumsden (who is a LH and younger). Still, Wright might be one of those guys who could slip into the picture and provide the Royals with some hope.

Update [2006-11-17 14:22:41 by royalsreview]: Link to all of Matt Wrights split stats in the minors here.

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sheesh

another ex brave

nice

he's a minor league pitcher... throw enough of them against the wall and maybe one is good

by LeoBloom on Nov 16, 2006 11:19 PM EST reply actions

Did a little more homework on Wright

Wright was named to Southern League AS team in 2006, and was a SAL AS in 2004. He generally had good seasons from 2002-2004 but fell apart in 2005, his first year in AA. If these kind of numbers were all in the KC system, he would easily be one of the top 10 pitchers in our minor leagues. With the state of pitching in KC's system, I like this signing. Isn't it about time that the Royals caught a break in picking up a minor leaguer who will get better?

by daveyork on Nov 16, 2006 11:45 PM EST reply actions

wright

I saw this kid pitch a couple of times when he was with richmond, and I remember seeing him in Mississippi, but don't remember much about him from there.
When he was with richmond this year, his problem was just keeping the ball down, he has pretty electric stuff, but just put it on a platter for everybody
I could see him competing for a spot in the rotation in spring training.
As a Braves fan, I'm sad to see him go...as I was excited about this guy.

by atlmike86 on Nov 16, 2006 11:55 PM EST reply actions

Here we go...

I think we might see a lot of these kind of
add-ons before spring training. Mr. Wright sounds like a good addition to the stockpile of arms. Grienke may well have to earn his way on to the rotation if this keeps up.

Maybe this year's free agent market is just a little too overpriced for Moore's taste. A year of building and watching the young talent at Omaha growup might be just what KC needs. I bet we win more than 62 games next year.

by grudz69 on Nov 17, 2006 12:23 AM EST reply actions

not that i know anything

but this guy looks like he may deserve abig league shot
he is 25

by Freneau on Nov 17, 2006 11:55 AM EST reply actions

this guy...

just might be a bargain.... not a star but a working man's inning eater type player. Beats the hell out "the Rose". I like this pick up and I hope the Moore will keep this up. I want to go into spring training with as many options as possible. So what if we have a starting five in Omaha that could of or should of been in KC that makes us better able to survive the speed bumps of a full 162 game season. That is something we couldn't do last year. Kudos to Dayton.... now could you get rid of Bullrroa.....for us fans.

by grudz69 on Nov 17, 2006 5:28 PM EST reply actions

Hey Grudz,

Why so down on Rosy. He was the one decent strikeout guy we started last year (out of about 20) with 6.7 K/9, and only gave up 1.0 H/IP which for a Royal is downright stingy. When he was getting the ball over he could be nasty and entertaining to watch with that big curve. Remember him baffling the Rangers and Yankees (5.2 shutout innings). Six of 10 starts were 2 runs or less (unfortunately only 5 to 6 innings each), overall 5.18 ERA, but only 3.33 in last 5 so showed some progress.

Compare his numbers with our other crappy starters and only Huddie is in his neighborhood. Plus he's a reasonably young lefty. He'll probably wind up in the bullpen but if he learns to throw strikes he could be a pretty good starter. Anyone else have thoughts on Georgie?

Remember we only gave up Graffy to get him. By the way, did anyone else feel they'd rather watch Graffy play short last year even with his limited range and mediocre arm?

by chukar on Nov 17, 2006 8:32 PM EST up reply actions

You are right...

But, Rosy needs to learn how to pitch in Omaha not in KC. He has the talent but not the consistency. Maybe sometime in Omaha would help.

by grudz69 on Nov 18, 2006 12:18 AM EST up reply actions

Matt Wright Interview

Congrats Royals fans. First you stole Dayton Moore, and now you steal one of my favorite young pitchers. He was set back by injuries, which is why he's not in the Majors already. I think he has the ability to step up next season and win a Major League job out of the spring training. He's a big hard thrower, you're going to like him. Here is a link to an interview I did with him about two weeks before the end of the regular season.

gondeee
www.talkingchop.com

by gondeee on Nov 17, 2006 9:14 PM EST reply actions

Step it up royals review!

thanks for the link. very cool.

So RR, when are you gonna get some interviews? We want to know about Berroa, and Gathright, and Emil, we need to be informed. Maybe they could even set you up with Mr Buddy Bell himself.

by wildthang on Nov 18, 2006 12:19 AM EST up reply actions

Welcome Gondee....

I hope Mr. Wright does make the rotation next spring. We would love to have him stop in and say hello on the blog. We didn't steal Dayton. We are just giving him a chance to be all he can be and he doesn't have to join the army, just be a Royal GM.

by grudz69 on Nov 18, 2006 12:16 AM EST reply actions

Here's to hoping...

...he can bring you guys success, everyone in baseball knows you are due. Hey, if the Tigers can do it, then perhaps there's hope. Of course, your owner is going to have to loosen the purse strings a bit, but I'm sure that Dayton wouldn't spend that money on the Gruzelaniks (sp) or Redmonds.

by gondeee on Nov 18, 2006 10:50 PM EST up reply actions

Grudzielanek was the Royals best player in 2006

I wouldn't mind seeing more like him come to town. I agree that too much money is being spent on bad pitching.

by jbrocato on Nov 19, 2006 7:28 AM EST up reply actions

Totally agree

One thing the Royals have been lacking over the past few years (maybe decades now, I can't remember) is a core of professional, get the job done, baseball players. They might not look like terrific athletes but they have baseball skills like turning the DP, bunting, moving runners over, smart baserunning instincts, etc. KC could use more baseball players like Grudz. He has gotten better in his career!

by daveyork on Nov 19, 2006 2:11 PM EST up reply actions