Matt Bowman

Matthew Chou Bowman

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.
• School Princeton University
• High School St. Albans School
• Debut April 6, 2016

• Born May 31, 1991 in Chevy Chase, MD USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Matt Bowman, also known as Matthew Bowman, reached the major leagues in 2016.

Bowman had a 0.70 ERA as a high school senior while hitting .419 as a shortstop. He was also All-Conference in soccer. As a college freshman with the Princeton Tigers, he was 1-4 with a save and a 3.74 ERA, while hitting .250/.299/.290. In 2011, the sophomore batted .306/.349/.368 with a pitching line of 2-7, 5.05. He was third in the Ivy League in runs scored (39), second with 59 hits (one behind Joe Sclafani), tied for second in losses, led in homers allowed (9) and was second in runs allowed (52). He was second-team All-Conference at shortstop, behind Scalafani. His offense remained steady as a junior (.308/.365/.361, 26 runs scored in 33 games) while his pitching improved (4-2, 4.66, 58 strikeouts in 56 innings). He tied for 6th in the Ivy League in wins, tied for first with two shutouts and was 4th in whiffs.

The New York Mets took him in the 13th round of the 2012 amateur draft; the scout was Jim Thompson. He was 2-2 with 3 saves and a 2.45 ERA for the 2012 Brooklyn Cyclones, striking out 30 and walking only two in 29 1/3 innings. He split 2013 between the Savannah Sand Gnats (4-0, 2.64) and St. Lucie Mets (6-4, 3.18). He was 4th in the Mets farm system in wins (behind Gabriel Ynoa, Rafael Montero and Logan Verrett) and 8th in whiffs (between Jacob deGrom and Ynoa). He remained productive in 2014 with the Binghamton Mets (7-6, 3.12) and Las Vegas 51s (3-2, 3.47), with 124 strikeouts to 36 walks in 134 1/3 innings. He tied for 6th in the Mets chain in wins and tied Tyler Pill for third in strikeouts. In 2015, he spent all year in Triple A but was lit up in Las Vegas (7-16, 5.53, only 71 strikeouts to 55 walks in 140 innings). He led Mets minor leaguers in losses (by four), led the 2015 PCL in defeats (four over Brad Mills, Ty Blach and Josh Roenicke) and tied for second in the minor leagues in losses (even with Bryan Rodriguez, Harrison Cooney and Justin Haley, one behind Mitch Horacek).

Undaunted by his struggles in the hitter's paradise that is the Pacific Coast League, the St. Louis Cardinals took him in the 2015 Rule V Draft. He made 59 appearances out of the St. Louis pen in 2016, with a 2-5, 3.46 record in 67 2/3 innings. He made 76 appearances the following season, being used more as a specialist, with a 3-6, 3.99 mark in 58 2/3 innings. He struggled in 2018, to the tune of a 6.26 ERA in 22 games, and made a return engagement to the minor leagues. Following the season, he was claimed on waivers by the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he made 27 appearances and recorded 2 victories with a 3.66 ERA in 32 innings.

Sources

• 2015 Mets Media Guide
• The Baseball Cube

Related Sites

• Matt Bowman on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• Princeton bio