2010 MLB Draft Candidates: Matt Harvey – Starting Pitcher From UNC

Full Name : Matthew Edward Harvey
College : University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
D.O.B. : 3/27/89 (21 years old)
Height : 6’4 ft.
Weight : 210 lbs.
Throws : Right
Position : SP

Stats :

Year	W-L	ERA	G/GS	IP	SO	BB	H	HR
2008	7-2	2.79	19/16	67.2	80	47	52	1
2009	7-2	5.40	21/13	75.0	81	42	88	8
2010	8-3	3.07	14/14	96.0	102	35	80	7

Accolades :

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• Prep All-America honors
• Connecticut state Player of the Year by the Hartford Courant and by Gatorade
• Rated as the nation’s No. 1 high school prospect in Feb 2007 (Baseball America)
• All-America honors (Aflac) (Under Armour) (PlayStation) (Louisville Slugger)
• 3x Preseason All-America
• 3x All-state pick
• 4x All-Conference choice
• Pitched for Team USA in the 2006 IBFA AAA Junior World Championships
• Freshman All-America Honors (Collegiate Baseball)
• Second team Freshman (NCBWA)
• First team Freshman (Rivals.com)
• All-Tournament team (ACC)
• 2008 ACC’s No. 3 (Baseball America)
• ACC Pitcher of the Week honors May 18, 2009

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Previously Drafted : 3rd round (118th overall) by Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Mock Draft : Top 15 Pick

Repertoire : 91-95 mph fastball can tough a bit higher on occasions
83-85 mph slider
79-83 mph change up

Video :

Summary :

If the Mets draft Harvey he is getting the nickname “The Enigma”.  During his freshman season at UNC he lived up to the hype coming out of high school, but things fell apart quickly.  In his sophomore season players began to catch up to his fastball and hitting him hard.  That combined with his lack of command cause his ERA to bloom despite a nice W-L record.  For his 2010 junior season he changed his mechanics a bit and it has paid off as he has walked less batters in 20 more innings this season compared to last.  He also worked on incorporating a 2-seam fastball into his repertoire which has allowed him to get more ground balls and pitch deeper into ball games with hitters getting out earlier in counts.

There is no doubting Harvey’s stuff.  He has a great fastball, a slider that flashes signs of plus potential, an a developing change up.  The problem is he has a very similar scouting report three years ago except the slider was then a curve ball.  His lack of command and secondary pitches makes me worry he is destined for a role in the bullpen.  In a lot of ways he reminds me of last year’s big shot UNC pitchers Alex White , but if he has as much success as White I’ll eat my words and take him on my team in a second.  All you have to do is look at his start today to understand everything you need to know about Harvey, 6 IP only 4 hits and 9 K’s, but also 3 BB’S, 2 wild pitches, and a hit batter.  There is just no telling what this guy is going to give you so if you are willing to take this risk, which I’m not, you will either be rewarded with a top of the rotation pitcher or you could wind up with a AA flame out.

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