Matthew Festa Scouting Report & Game Video
Dates Observed: May, 2018; June – Sep, 2017
Team/Organization: Modesto Nuts, Arkansas Travelers (Seattle Mariners)
League/Level: California League (High-A); Texas League (Double-A)
Scouting Notes: Decent size, good lower body strength despite suffering some recent bumps and bruises there (nagging hip injury in spring, 2018 for example). Consistent, easy mechanics; hypothesized early on he may be a rotation conversion target because of his mechanics, but the Mariners have opted to keep him in relief up through his first taste of the big leagues in July 2018 … Four-seam fastball 92-96 in multiple looks here; pairs with an 89-92 two-seamer that really takes off and rides arm-side in on RHH, a sharp 76-80 curveball with depth, and a power 83-86 slider with good tilt and late break … Deep repertoire for a high-leverage, short stint reliever, and he shows some real pitchability at times with advanced feel to change speeds and throw strikes. Will struggle at other times with command, though, and must quickly figure out what in the repertoire is working and what isn’t right out of the bullpen each night, or else he’s liable to have an outing go sideways pretty quickly. Regardless, there’s a real, sustained ability to miss bats across his repertoire thanks to seriously late life and good command down and to corners. Matthew Festa is a nice young add for the Seattle Mariners; for me, he’ll never quite have the velocity or intangibles to be a traditional closer, but I think there’s a world where he can settle in as a one- or two-inning fireman working as a bridge from the rotation to the bullpen’s back end with success. With a deep repertoire, consistent mechanics, and some expectation of command beyond most power relievers, there’s multi-inning, high-leverage potential here for the Seattle Mariners at Festa’s ceiling; sneaky-good relief prospect; now, we’ll see how he adjusts to the big leagues.
Game Video:
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