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Taken with the 14th overall pick by a cash-strapped Texas organization in 2009, Matt turned down a (generous, to many minds) $4 million bonus and followed through on his plans to go to Texas Christian U.
The Purker then had a dream of a freshman season with the Horned Frogs. Yeah, you may think that a 3.09 ERA is good, but not exactly a dream, but in the Big 12 it was a ticket to a 16-0 record.
Now, I would have tossed my hat right back into the draft that summer, but most guys, if they turn down a big 'ol bonus and head for college, they give it at least two years. Matt did this too, and his sophomore season was going even better, starting 5-1, with a 1.71 ERA, but arm trouble ended his season after 11 starts.
That's a sucky break, because he did declare for the draft, and perhaps that uncertainty undid him as he fell to the third round and the 96th overall pick by the Nats. He had shoulder debridement surgery ending his 2012 season, and then the TJ in 2014. He joined the White Sox and pitched 12 times out of the pen in 2016, spending all of 2017 laboring for Charlotte.
His control has never been sparkling, but has been a real issue since the surgery, but he seems to be adapting to a new life as a reliever, and the Mets may be grabbing him just as he's ready for the specialist role, and in a position to invest less and get more than his previous organizations. The Rangers wasted the pick on him, the Nats endured two surgeries with him, and the Sox took the pain of his first big league exposure.
Now it's on the Mets to cash in everybody else's chips and make something of this guy.
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