The Houston Astros have added a new piece to their 40-man roster: left-handed pitcher Matt Gage. It’s an exciting move for the Astros, who are looking to bolster their pitching staff for the upcoming season. So who is Matt Gage and what can he bring to the table? Read on to find out!
Matt Gage is a six-foot-three, 265 lb. left-hander from Johnstown, NY. He was initially drafted by the San Francisco Giants back in the 10th round in 2014 and has since played for the New York Mets and Mexico City Red Devils. In 2019, he went 10-4 with a 5.57 ERA for the Red Devils and was awarded Buffalo’s Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2022.
Gage has started 119 games in his minor league career, coming out of the bullpen an additional 96 times over parts of eight seasons. He finally made his major league debut last year for the Toronto Blue Jays, walking six and striking out 12 in 13 innings. He allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits, holding opponents to a .146 batting average.
Gage’s fastball tops out at 93 MPH, in the bottom 11 percentile of the major leagues. He has used it thus far just on just over 50 percent of his offerings. He tempers the heater with a cut fastball (43 percent, 87 MPH) and a slider (five percent). Despite the relative velocity of Gage’s fastball, it carried a .248 XSLG on 96 offerings through the 2022 campaign for Toronto. A hidden gem Ala the invisiball? Time will tell.
Gage could run into problems carving out a decent slice of playing time for Houston at their major league level. The Astros completed the 2022 season with a historically good bullpen (and rotation for that matter), and the only real change thus far is the loss of Justin Verlander. Still, I can never complain about too much pitching, and neither should you.
The Astros have added a promising piece to their 40-man roster in Matt Gage. He has the potential to be a diamond in the rough, and it will be exciting to see how he performs for the team in the upcoming season. With the addition of Gage, the Astros have added yet another piece to their already impressive pitching staff, and it’s sure to be a treat for fans to watch.
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