In his first two years with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, Matt Fields posted a 5-7 record with a 3.09 ERA in 33 games.

In his first two seasons with the Blue Jays organization, Matt Fields posted a 5-7 record with a 3.09 ERA in 33 games.  Finding such success, the young athlete from Seattle was anxious to embark in his third season with the organization and his fans were too. Unfortunately, however, the inevitable happened and during the season Fields experienced an elbow injury, allowing him to play in only two games and disallowing fans to get to know more about the young 25-year old right-handed pitcher. Fortunately, Fields sat down with JaysProspects to share some more information about his journey to and with the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

Matt Fields was chosen by the Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 2009 MLB draft. “The draft process was great,” states Fields in relation to being chosen by the team in blue, “I had a pretty good feeling that I was going to be selected at some point, but had no idea when or to which team.” As he reminisces, “I remember sitting in my apartment and hearing my name called on the online feed. It was an awesome feeling knowing that I had a chance to continue playing the game. I received a call from the Blue Jays organization a few minutes later and within three days I was on a plane en route to our Spring Training complex. Everything happened extremely fast but I wouldn’t have changed a thing!”

Being from Seattle, Fields was asked if he had any favourite players growing up. His response was not surprising: “Being from Seattle, I of course grew up a Mariners fan. I always enjoyed watching Randy Johnson take the mound with his amazing stuff and he always seemed to lay it all out there and compete. Currently, I take the same satisfaction in watching Justin Verlander pitch.” While he is a present Verlander fan, Fields admits that he finds a lot of similarities between himself and another Tigers’ pitcher, Doug Fister: “We both attack the zone” Fields states, “And neither of us are afraid of contact so we are able to stay poised in any situation.”

Stating that Fields ‘attacks the strike zone’ is an understatement as he absolutely pulverizes it. In his first season with the Blue Jays organization, he posted a 0-0 record with a 1.22 ERA in 14 games; striking out 54 while only walking six. He also had a strong year in 2010 where he posted a 5-7 record with a 4.14 ERA in 100 innings pitched, striking out 61 while only walking 19. When asked if he could reveal his secret to the skill, Fields indicated, “Commanding the strike zone is something that I have always prided myself on. I have always felt like that was something I could control on the mound. A lot of things in baseball are out of the pitchers’ hands but throwing strikes is not one of those. I think it just comes down to having the right mind set on the mound. You need to have that attack mentality and can’t be afraid to go after people.”

At Gonzaga Universtiy, Fields went 17-4 and was named West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year

This dominance was also prominent at Gonzaga University, where in 2006, he finishes his season with a 5-2 record and 1.92 ERA, striking out 56 over 51 2/3 innings pitched while walking only 14. He finished his career at Gonzaga U with a 17-4 record and led the led
the Zags to a West Coast Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA
tournament, where he was named as a West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year. When asked who could be attributed to his success, Fields responded, “My family has played a huge roll in my baseball career. They have been behind me from day one and have backed every decision I have made. Their support has been huge.” The young west-coast prospect also added that several coaches were also instrumental to his success: “The staff at Rijo Athletics helped me prepare for the move from high school to college, and the coaching staff at Gonzaga University was better than anything I could have ever asked for.”

With all the support he is has gotten, Fields is anxious to get back on the mound, healthy. Discussing his season, the right-handed pitcher, admits that it was certainly frustrating to have to undergo an injury: “Things were going really well in Spring Training, but then a week from breaking camp, I started getting some serious pain and loss of range of motion in my right elbow. I went to the trainers to get it checked out and was shut down for a few weeks. An MRI showed a sprained ligament and a strained forearm muscle. I battled it for a few months then was finally game ready in June.” In June, he was set up to play for the Lansing Lugnuts, but unfortunately, it did not take long to get into a game until his elbow gave out again. “I ended up needing to have surgery on July 22nd” Fields stated, “An ulnar nerve transposition was performed, pretty much meaning that they moved the nerve that was being affected by inflammation.”

Fields was only able to play in one game with the Lansing Lugnuts until he required surgery

With his arm in the midst of fully recuperating, Fields ads that his top goal for this off season is to get healthy and ready for the spring. “Working hard in the weight room is always a top priority,” Fields told JaysProspects, “I need to come back in great physical shape so I can show up and start working on the mound with no hesitation. I also will be following a strict throwing program to get my arm ready for a long season. Having arm problems last season, I need to be more ready than ever for this upcoming year.”

Helping the time go by faster this offseason, Fields is also working as a pitching instructor at Rijo Athletics in Woodinville, WA. “I really enjoy working with kids and passing on information and experiences that I have picked up throughout my baseball career,” he announces. He also admits that as he is a huge Seattle Seahawks fan and so plans to spend his Sundays either in front of the TV or checking scores on his phone.

JaysProspects wishes that the Seahawks have a great season, but even more so, wishes for Matt Fields to find nothing but success and health in his future. We kindly thank him for his time.