His stock has fallen a bit http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , but there’s plenty of time for it to recover."cheduleRosterStatsYahoo Red Sox NewsYahoo Red Sox Team PageYahoo Red Sox ReportYahoo Red Sox Depth ChartYahoo Red Sox TransactionsYahoo Red Sox PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ed Sox MinorsRed Sox Top Prospect Voting: Bryan Mata tries to recover from a rocky 2018New,20commentsHis stock has fallen a bit, but there’s plenty of time for it to recover.ESTShareTweetShareShareRed Sox Top Prospect Voting: Bryan Mata tries to recover from a rocky 2018Bryan MataKelly O’Connor; sittingstill.smugmug.comAs we start getting towards the bottom of the top ten on our community top-20 Red Sox prospects list, our run on starting pitchers has continued into the number eight slot. This latest vote, another runaway, gives us our fourth consecutive pitcher after starting the list with three position players in the top four slots. This time, the vote went in favor of Bryan Mata, who took 21 out of 35 votes (60 percent).Mata was not really on the radar when he joined the organization as a 16-year-old on the international market back in 2016. The Venezuelan wasn’t a big-time July 2 signing, instead receiving a modest $25,000 signing in January of that year. He got right into pitching that year, however, making his debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2016. Eyes were opened right away from his performance. Despite his age and lack of experience as a professional the then 17-year-old made 14 starts in the DSL for a total of 61 innings, finishing the season with a 2.80 ERA Ferguson Jenkins Jersey , 61 strikeouts and only 19 walks. That was enough for the righty to be aggressively promoted to Greenville for his full-season debut the following season, and he again didn’t look overmatched. Now 18 years old, Mata pitched to a 3.74 ERA over 17 starts and 77 innings in A-Ball with 74 strikeouts and 26 walks. There wasn’t ace potential here, but for an organization that has struggled so mightily in developing starting pitching, having someone so young and successful in the organization was certainly intriguing.Bryan MataKelly O’Connor; sittingstill.smugmug.comAll of this made him a must-follow in the farm system heading into 2018. It was his age-19 season and he already had succeeded in full-season ball, now making the leap up to High-A. The sky was the limit. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out that way. His performance took a major step back, which we’ll get to in a second, but he also suffered his first injury of his career. A back injury in late-July ended his season prematurely. Before the injury, Mata had started 17 games and tossed 72 innings. His 3.50 ERA over that time looks pretty good and may speak to some ability to get out of trouble, but concerning was that he struck out 61 and walked a whopping 58 batters. That’s over seven walks per nine innings. Yikes!Obviously, his stock has fallen quite a bit from that, but many scouts are quite as worried about that horrendous walk rate as you may think. You can’t totally write off the struggles http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , but Mata came into the 2018 season looking like a new man, adding weight and muscle to be built more like a starting pitcher. It was a good development to see, but it also understandably messed with him mechanically. Some believe as he becomes more comfortable in his body, the command will improve. That development with the body helped his fastball play up significantly. Whereas he used to sit in the high-80s or low-90s, but he now got up to 92-95 and sometimes even a little higher. The command needs work, but the basic components of a good fastball are there. He also pairs that with a good changeup and a solid curveball, giving him a solid three-pitch mix. If he can figure out the control and command issues, he’s the type of pitcher that can stick in the rotation long-term. That’s a rarity in the Red Sox system.One Big Question: Can the shift to relief keep Travis Lakins healthy?Travis LakinsKelly O’Connor; sittingstill.smugmug.comThat question about Mata’s control and command will begin to be answered in 2019. This is going to be a fascinating season for Mata. Most of the potential risers in this system are young, inexperienced guys like Triston Casas and Antoni Flores, but don’t sleep on Mata in that category. He turns 20 in early May, and if he can get his walk rate back to a normal level while maintaining the velocity gains with the fastball, his stock will rise considerably. It’s a lot easier said than done, of course Ryan Rua Jersey , but the possibility is there. Sox Prospects projects him to start the season back in Salem, and that makes sense. Allow him to repeat a level at which he struggled and hopefully gain more confidence, opening up the possibility for a promotion to Portland around the draft. Here is our list so far:Michael ChavisDarwinzon HernandezTriston CasasBobby DalbecJay GroomeTanner HouckDurbin FeltmanBryan MataNow, you can head down into the comments and vote for the number nine. As a reminder, to do this you go down below and find the comment from me corresponding with the player for whom you’d like to vote. When you find said player, just click the “rec” button, and that will count your vote. To do this, you will need to be logged in as a member of the site. If you’d like to vote for a player who is not listed, just leave a comment saying “Vote for ___ here” and I’ll rec the comment to count your vote. Until next time... ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Washington defeated outfielder Michael A. Taylor in the first salary arbitration decision this year.Taylor will receive the team’s offer of $3.25 million rather than his request of $3.5 million. Arbitrators Mark Burstein, James Darby and Matt Goldberg issued their decision Friday, a day after hearing arguments.Taylor hit .227 with six homers and 28 RBIs last year, down from a .271 average with 19 homers and 53 RBIs in 2017. He had a $2.5 million salary last year.Houston shortstop Carlos Correa also had a hearing Thursday and asked for a raise from $1 million to $5 million. The Astros argued for $4.25 million during the session before arbitrators Elizabeth Neumeier Drew Robinson Jersey , James Oldham and Gary Kendellen, who are expected to decide Tuesday.Correa hit .239 with 15 homers and 65 RBIs last season, slowed by a bad back. He batted .315 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs in 2017, helping the Astros win their first World Series title.Oakland closer Blake Treinen’s case was heard Friday. He asked arbitrators Steven Wolf, Allen Ponak and Phillip LaPorte for a raise from $2.2 million to $6.4 million and was offered $5.6 million.Treinen was a first-time All-Star last year, going 9-2 with a 0.78 ERA and 38 saves in 43 chances over 68 relief appearances. The right-hander struck out 100 and walked 21 in 80 1/3 innings.Ten players remain scheduled for hearings through Feb. 15, including Astros right-handers Gerrit Cole and Chris Devenski, and Washington reliever Kyle Barraclough.Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado avoided a hearing when he agreed Thursday at $26 million, the largest one-year contract for an arbitration-eligible player. He topped third baseman Josh Donaldson’s $23 million deal with Toronto last winter.Players won 12 of 22 hearings last year, their second winning record in three years but just their fourth since 1996. The 22 decisions were the most since players went 14-10 in 1990.