Prospect Parade: AAA Opening Week
Zebby Matthews, Bubba Chandler, Cade Horton
Welcome to “Prospect Parade”, a series which aims to highlight intriguing MiLB players and performances. I will mainly focus on current prospects, but from time to time I will highlight recently graduated ones.
This article will cover intriguing AAA performances from opening week!
Zebby Matthews
Zebby Matthews took massive strides in 2024 to improve his velocity, and following his strong Spring and AAA debut, he has shown no signs of slowing down. After averaging 95 MPH last season, Matthews sat at 97.5 MPH in his first start of 2025. He maxed out at 99.2MPH, which was by far the hardest he has thrown in pro ball. There was not only improvement to his velocity; Matthews has vastly improved iVB (+2”) on his fastball all while maintaining a similar arm angle. This change boosted it tjStuff+ grade from 103 to 114.
It was an abridged outing for Matthews, so the average velocity may not have experienced its impending fatigue, but it is safe to say that he is throwing much harder this season. He has always had great strike-throwing ability, and now he is supplementing it with fantastic stuff.
Bubba Chandler
Bubba Chandler is patiently waiting his promotion to MLB, and his 2025 AAA debut showed off why he is considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. He flashed his elite arsenal, highlighted by his high 90s fastball and killer gyro-slider. His fastball experienced a larger distribution of horizonal breaks and a much tighter iVB spread. This change caused his average iVB to increase from 16.7” to 18.5”, improving his tjStuff+ from 107 to 115. The other notable change to his arsenal is his changeup. Last season, Chandler showed much better feel for the offering as it sat in the upper 80s with solid shape. Over the Spring and in his debut, the offering was consistently in the low 90s.
Chandler heavily struggled to locate any pitch yesterday, but the stuff was simply too good that it easily fooled batters. I would expect at least one more start in AAA to clean up his command before getting the call to bolster the Pirates rotation.
Joe Boyle
Joe Boyle has always had the ‘stuff’. High 90s fastballs and devastating gyro-sliders have carved up MiLB hitters since his pro debut, but command is the largest inhibitor. In his 2025 AAA debut, we saw a very similar story as he racked up 6 K in 4.0 IP and issued 2 BB on a poor 58.9 Strike%. His fastball averaged 98.5 MPH and returned a phenomenal 60.0 Whiff%, while his slider chilled in the lower 90s. The most intriguing element of his start was his new sinker (splinker?). The offering sat in the mid 90s with near 0” iVB and over a foot of arm-side run. Its movement for his slot is jaw-dropping and it pairs extremely well with his fastball. Consistently locating the offering will be the biggest hurdle seeing that he missed the zone with the handful of ones he tossed.
Boyle will likely be featured in this series more than once as he refines his craft with the Durham Bulls. He isn’t needed right now in MLB, but he may force the Rays hand if things click.
Blade Tidwell
Velocity is the name of the game for Tidwell through 2 AAA starts. After sitting at 94-96 MPH last season, he is now averaging 97 MPH on his heater while maintaining its shape. Zoning the offering continues to be an issue, but its better attributes has helped it miss more bats. His improved velocity has also transferred to his sinker and changeup. Both pitches not sit squarely above average on the tjStuff+ scale and gives Tidwell better weapons against RHH and LHH respectively. Tidwell has also shrunk his arsenal after seemingly scraping his cutter and curveball.
Tidwell’s cleaner 5-pitch mix looks fantastic and makes me confident that he can develop into a formidable MLB starter. Refining his command is the next big step before he eventually makes his Mets debut.
Cade Horton
Cade Horton was destined to make his MLB debut in 2024, but a shoulder injury kept him out for most of the season following his promotion to AAA. Now with a full offseason to prepare for the 2025 season, Horton looks back to his Top Prospect ways! After averaging 94.1 MPH on his fastball last season, he averaged 96.3 MPH in his debut while maxing out at 97.9 MPH. His fastball shape also degraded last season as it transformed into the typical “Cubs” cut-fastball designed to induce weak contact. Now with its vastly improved velocity, Horton added +4” iVB while maintain its cutting action. This change skyrocketed its tjStuff+ score from 97 to 109. The other notable change that Horton made was an additional +5” of glove-side movement to his slider, effectively transforming into a sweeper.
It was a wonderful resurgence for Horton after a forgettable 2024 season. With stuff like this, he should find himself up in Chicago in no time!
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Are they using the MLB ball in triple a these days?