Orioles select Matusz with No. 4 pick in draft

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Joe Jordan slept well on Wednesday night.

The Orioles’ scouting director was confident he knew who would be available for the team to select with the fourth overall pick in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Thursday.

The Orioles chose left-handed pitcher Brian Matusz, who the team and industry experts believe is the draft’s best at his position.

“At about 10 o’clock this morning, I was good with it,” Jordan said shortly after making the pick. “Let’s go. Let’s have lunch and get this thing going.”

Matusz, 21, went 26-8 with a 2.94 ERA in three seasons with University of San Diego, including a 12-2 mark with a 1.71 ERA this past season. At 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Matusz (pronounced MATT-iss) has three above-average pitches — a fastball that top outs at 94 mph, a curveball and changeup.

It was the changeup, Jordan said, that set Matusz apart from the pack. And it was Matusz’s character that Jordan said cemented the selection.

“He just struck me as an intellectual kid — a thinker,” Jordan said. “[He] asked great questions. He can articulate. He put me at ease, really.”

Matusz was the first pitcher selected by the Orioles in the first round since Wade Townsend, who didn’t sign with the team, in 2004. It continued a trend during drafts overseen by Andy MacPhail, the Orioles president, who selected a pitcher in the first round for the 16th time in 23 drafts.

The selection came in a draft considered to have better hitters than pitchers. Matusz was the first pitcher and second college player selected. His minor league destination will be determined after the Orioles sign him to a contract, which Jordan hopes is soon.

Tampa Bay opened the draft by taking Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham, followed by Pittsburgh selecting Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez and the Royals grabbing Florida high school first baseman Eric Hosmer. The Giants took Florida State catcher Buster Posey with the fifth pick.

Matusz is described as a potential mid-to-high rotation starter, and has a pitching repertoire comparable to that of Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels, who the Orioles could have drafted in 2002.

Matusz, who drafted by Anaheim in the fourth round in 2005 but did not sign with the Angels,  would like to get on the field as soon as possible.

“My number one goal since I’ve started playing baseball has been to play in the major leagues, and I’ve kind of just been taking it step by step,” Matusz said. “I’m excited to get out there as soon as possible, but we’ll see how the negotiations go. I know it’s going to work very smoothly. I’m excited to get it done as soon as we can.”

swelsh@baltimoreexaminer.com

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