When the season began for Matthew Liberatore he was among the top 10 prospects in the country for the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. Nothing has changed from that standpoint, though his movement within the top 10 has fluctuated.
Background Information
- Position: Left Handed Starting Pitcher
- Height: 6′ 5″
- Weight: 200 lbs.
- Class: Senior (High School)
High School Career
As a sophomore, Matthew Liberatore broke into a significant role with Mountain Ridge High School. He threw 33.1 innings with a 2.08 ERA to go along with 19 walks and 37 strikeouts. It was his junior season, though, that really vaulted him onto the national stage. In 62.1 innings he allowed just 35 hits and walked 23 batters with a 0.79 ERA and 96 strikeouts.
This season has been more of the same for the senior lefty. In 60.1 innings pitched he has posted a 0.93 ERA, allowed 28 hits and walked 25 batters. He’s upped his strikeout total, too, with 104 for the season.
All stats provided by MaxPreps.com.
Scouting Report
Matthew Liberatore took a big step forward in velocity between his junior and senior season. With a solid fastball for a left hander already in his pocket, he came out in his first start of the year and showed off low 90’s velocity and topped out at 96. Not only that, but he also showed off a good breaking ball and a potentially above-average change up. With three potentially above-average pitches from a lefty, he looked more and more like a potential top pick in the draft instead of just a guy who could go in the top 10. But, that was the only time during the spring that he showed that upper echelon velocity and has worked more in the 88-92 range for most of the spring. With his size and mechanics, there’s plenty of reason to believe his velocity could improve over the years.
What’s to like with Matthew Liberatore
He’s a big lefty hander who has shown high velocity at times and could have three above-average to plus pitches. Guys like that don’t come around too often.
What’s to be concerned about with Matthew Liberatore?
That his velocity dropped off after his first start is only a slight concern, but if you had to pick nits on something, that would be one of the things. While most scouts tend to believe he’s got strong mechanics, there are a few reports out there that think there’s some work to do there. Then, as always, there’s the fact that he’s a high school pitcher. While injury concerns are there for any pitcher, with high school ones they are further away from the Major Leagues at this point in the draft, meaning there’s a higher chance that something would pop up before reaching the big league club.
Does Matthew Liberatore fit for the Reds?
Yes, Matthew Liberatore is a good fit for the Reds. Generally speaking, take the best player available. When that player is a pitcher there’s never a concern about that player not fitting. In very rare circumstances does it make sense to not select someone because of what’s at the big league level. In Cincinnati, maybe it doesn’t make sense to draft a college third baseman who doesn’t profile well at another position because Eugenio Suarez is locked up for the next seven seasons. Of course, you could always argue to draft that guy anyways and trade them down the road if they become what you believe they will. That’s never the case with pitching because there are five spots in every rotation, and even the healthy teams wind up using eight starters a season.