Kevin Mattison

Kevin Robert Mattison

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 193 lb.
• School UNC-Asheville
• High School East Forsyth High School
• Debut May 12, 2012
• Final Game May 25, 2012
• Born September 20, 1985 in Fort Lauderdale, FL USA

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Biographical Information

28th-round pick Kevin Mattison made it to AAA in 2010 and to the major leagues in 2012.

Mattison hit .400 as a high school senior. As a college freshman, he batted .283/.321/.376 with 14 steals in 20 tries. His sophomore year, he improved to .317/.407/.558. He set the UNC-Asheville record with 8 triples in a season, tying the Big South Conference record. His junior year, he again had 8 triples while batting .274/.343/.466. He scored 50 runs in 53 games. In 2008, the senior was at .286/.387/.535 with 37 walks, 19 doubles, 11 home runs, 66 runs and 44 RBI in 58 games. He was second in the Big South in runs (behind Scott Woodward) and tied for 3rd in walks. He finished as UNC-Asheville's all-time leader in runs (192), triples (23), steals (57) and total bases (423).

The Florida Marlins took him in the 28th round of the 2008 amateur draft, one round after they took Elih Villanueva. The scout was Joel Matthews. Kevin hit .250/.344/.377 with 48 runs in 70 games in his pro debut with the Jamestown Jammers that year. He was 4th in the New York-Penn League with 6 triples, tied for 4th in runs scored and tied Brian Van Kirk for the most outfield errors. In 2009, Mattison played 95 games for the Greensboro Grasshoppers; he batted .250/.323/.422 with 15 home runs, 61 runs and 41 steals in 47 tries. He led Marlins farmhands in steals and was 6th in home runs. In the Florida State League, he ranked 4th in swipes (behind Anthony Gose, Scott Robinson and Harold Garcia).

In 2010, Mattison played for the Jupiter Hammerheads (.218/.274/.301 in 90 G, 44 SB, 10 CS), Jacksonville Suns (10 for 45, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 SB, 4 BB) and New Orleans Zephyrs (6 for 29, SB, CS, BB). He finished the year with only 3 homers, a big drop-off, 27 walks to 104 strikeouts and a 573 OPS. The only positives were 49 steals in 60 tries, 12 outfield assists and a .992 fielding percentage. He again led the Florida minor leagues in swipes and tied Josh Prince for second in the Florida State League, one behind Gose.

Mattison rebounded in 2011 with Jacksonville. He produced at a .260/.353/.406 clip with 38 steals (caught 16 times), 16 triples and 87 runs. He had 15 assists but 10 errors. He was second in the Southern League in triples (two behind leader Alfredo Silverio), 2nd in steals (2 behind Quintin Berry), 3rd in runs (trailing A.J. Pollock and Silverio), 4th in strikeouts. He led the league in both outfield putouts (374) and errors and was 4 assists behind pace-setter Silverio. Baseball America named him the fastest baserunner in the SL. He was named to the SL All-Star team, not in the outfield (Pollock, Silverio and Scott Van Slyke were picked), but as "Best Hustler". He also tied Marcell Ozuna for most runs by a Marlins farmhand and led their chain in steals for the third year running. In all of the affiliated minors, he tied for third in triples (with Jermaine Mitchell and Cole Gillespie, behind Silverio and Jeremy Moore). In the Arizona Fall League, he hit .349 with 29 runs and 23 RBI in 25 games for the Surprise Saguaros. He won the Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award.

He began the 2012 season with New Orleans, hitting .250 in his first 21 games, with 7 doubles, 3 homers and 22 runs scored. He was called up to the now-renamed Miami Marlins in early May and made his major league debut on May 12th, when he pinch-hit for C Brett Hayes in the 9th inning of a 9-3 loss to the New York Mets; facing D.J. Carrasco, he grounded out to 1B Ike Davis.

Sources

• 2012 Marlins Media Guide
• UNC Asheville bio
• The Baseball Cube
• 2009-2012 Baseball Almanacs

Related Sites

• Kevin Mattison on mlb.com