MLB

Add Steven Matz to the list of Mets’ big arms

PORT ST. LUCIE — On deck, Steven Matz?

As the Mets consider the pipeline of young pitching talent behind a wave that includes Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom, the 22-year-old Matz is fast moving to the head of the list.

The lefty made his Grapefruit League debut Sunday, when he pitched a scoreless inning facing the Cardinals, and is scheduled for a return to the mound Thursday against the Astros.

“I feel like I’m learning a lot,” said Matz, a graduate of Ward Melville High School on Long Island.

Matz, the Mets’ top pick in the 2009 draft — he was taken in the second round — is impressing team officials with his 95 mph heat and major league changeup. The next step, which could propel him to the big leagues, will be refining a curveball that Triple-A pitching coach Frank Viola says needs to develop “consistent slide.”

Viola and Matz were together last year at Single-A Savannah and developed a bond that goes beyond the normal pitching coach/pitcher relationship.

“When I came back the organization, [Matz] was one of the first kids I met,” said Viola, a native of East Meadow, N.Y., and veteran of 15 major league seasons, mostly with the Twins and Mets. “There is always special attachment toward the Long Island guys — I was one of them — and then left-handed on top of that, but I didn’t have his arm. He’s just a down-to-earth, wonderful kid, and you root for kids like that. They are so thankful for the opportunity.”

Matz is perhaps more thankful than most, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2010 that essentially cost him two full seasons. After an initial 12-month rehab, the elbow was still hurting, prompting the organization to shut him down for 2011.

He finally got back to pitching in 2012, appearing in six games for Rookie-level Kingsport, where he incurred tendinitis. Last year he went 5-6 with a 2.62 ERA in 21 appearances for Savannah, showing enough promise for the Mets to add him to the 40-man roster last offseason.

Though the Tommy John surgery slowed his ascent on the organizational ladder, Matz now views it as a positive.

“It was definitely frustrating during the time,” he said. “But looking at it now, I just see it as a blessing because I learned so much about my body and just matured physically and mentally. It kind of eased me into it, and in the long run I feel it was almost a good thing.

“It’s pretty cool that after all these years I’m back on track.”

In the grand scheme, Matz could be a consideration for the Mets’ rotation or bullpen by the summer of 2015.

“Given the lost time, we need to be prudent in building up his workload,” said Paul DePodesta, the Mets vice president of player development and scouting. “I certainly think he can be at Double-A at some point this year if all goes well, which puts him in striking distance [for 2015]. That’s where a guy like [Matt] Harvey was in 2012 or Noah [Syndergaard] this year.”

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen predicted Matz will generate serious buzz within the organization this season.

“I think he is going to jump quickly,” Warthen said. “I would bet there will be some rumblings about him mid-summer. Maybe not at our level, but we’re going to hear a lot about the year he is having.”

Viola said the curveball is the missing piece.

“He’s got a two-seam, four-seam fastball and changeup that will challenge anybody — I’ll go to my grave with that one,” Viola said. “The biggest thing he needs to do is get a consistent slide on his curveball and be able to repeat that. Once he’s able to do that and mix it up with the fastball and changeup, he’ll go fast.”