Marcos Mateo

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Chicago Cubs #18 prospect in 2011
  Mateo became the second member of his family to pitch for the Cubs when he got the call last August, following in the footsteps of his cousin Juan Mateo. He posted a 10.32 ERA in his first 11 big league appearances, but he settled down to pitch scoreless ball in nine of his final 10 outings. Originally signed by the Reds, he came to Chicago in an August 2007 trade for Buck Coats and has flashed huge upside but not much consistency. Mateo settled down some when the Cubs made him a full-time reliever in mid-2009, and his stuff played up in shorter stints. He pushes triple digits with his fastball, usually working at 94-97. When it's on, his upper-80s slider might be the most unhittable pitch in the system. He has a mediocre changeup and doesn't trust it enough. While Chicago has helped him calm down his delivery to some degree, Mateo still throws with a lot of effort at the expense of his command. He slashed his walk rate to a career-low 1.8 per nine innings in the minors last year. It's probably unrealistic to expect Mateo to become reliable enough to close games at the big league level, but his power stuff could make him a set-up man one day. He performed well in the Dominican League this winter, which could help his cause when he competes for a job in the Cubs' bullpen in spring training.
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  Ranked Chicago Cubs #24 prospect in 2010
  A cousin of former Cubs pitcher Juan Mateo, Marcos originally signed with the Reds and joined Chicago in an August 2007 trade for Buck Coats. The Cubs added Mateo to their 40-man roster after the 2008 season, but he responded by arriving in big league camp out of shape last spring. He struggled for most of the first two months of last season before recapturing his electric stuff after the all-star break. Chicago primarily used Mateo as a starter to get him innings before turning him loose as a reliever last July. At his best, he sits in the mid-90s and tops out at 98 mph with his fastball--and his high-80s slider may be more unhittable than his heater. He doesn't believe in throwing his changeup and has some effort in his delivery, though pitching coordinator Mark Riggins has helped him make his mechanics smoother than they once were. Mateo's command is still a work in progress and will determine his ultimate role. He has closer's stuff but will have to do a much better job of locating his pitches to ever get a chance to finish big league games. Ticketed for Triple-A to start 2010, he could make his major league debut by the end of the year.
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  Ranked Chicago Cubs #17 prospect in 2009
  The Cubs have done a fine job of acquiring promising arms in minor trades, grabbing Jose Ceda (for Todd Walker), Kevin Hart (for Freddie Bynum), Jose Ascanio (for Will Ohman and Omar Infante) and Justin Berg (for Matt Lawton) in recent years. When Chicago designated Buck Coats for assignment in August 2007, it spun him off to the Reds for Mateo, whose cousin Juan used to pitch for the Cubs. Chicago used Mateo mostly as a starter in his first full season in the organization to give him innings to develop. Pitching coordinator Mark Riggins and Daytona pitching coach David Rosario worked diligently to smooth out what had been a herky-jerky delivery. Mateo is destined for the bullpen and is far from consistent, but he does have one of the most electric arms in the system. When he's fresh, his fastball ranges from 92-97 mph yet isn't necessarily his best pitch. At the time of the trade, Mateo had just started to flash an average breaking ball, and now he can run his hard slider up to 91 mph with unhittable tilt at times. He only dabbles with a changeup and employs a full-speed-ahead approach, but that'll be less of an issue when he eventually becomes a full-time reliever. Added to the 40-man roster in November, Mateo will advance to Double-A and may continue to work as a starter to give him more time on the mound.