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Matt Mervis

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Matt Mervis
Mervis with the Iowa Cubs in 2022
Chicago Cubs
First baseman
Born: (1998-04-16) April 16, 1998 (age 26)
Washington, D.C.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right

Matthew Jared Mervis (born April 16, 1998), nicknamed Mash,[1][2][3] is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Chicago Cubs organization.

Early life

Mervis was born in Washington, D.C., to Jeffrey Mervis and Ellen Van Bergen.[4] He has one older brother and a younger sister.[4] He was raised in Potomac, Maryland.[4]

Amateur career

Mervis attended Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, where he played baseball. As a junior in 2015, he hit .409 with 39 RBIs while as a pitcher he had a 0.10 ERA.[4] In 2016, as a senior, he batted .348 with two home runs while also posting a 1.13 ERA with 121 strikeouts.[5] He earned spots on the 2014 Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All American High Honorable Mention, 2015 Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All American Second Team, and 2016 Perfect Game Preseason Atlantic-All Region First Team, and threw a 92 mph fastball in 2015.[6] He was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 39th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[7] That summer, he played with the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, and slashed .411/.469/.643 over 15 games, with his batting average leading the league and his on-base percentage and on-base plus slugging ranking third and second, respectively.[8]

After high school, Mervis enrolled at Duke University where he majored in political science and played four years of college baseball as a pitcher, first baseman, and third baseman.[9][3][10] In 2017, his freshman year at Duke, he had two doubles over six at-bats while pitching to a 2-2 record with a 7.83 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 23 innings.[7] That summer, he briefly played for both the New Bedford BaySox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[7] As a sophomore with Duke in 2019, he collected one hit over four at-bats while going 3-0 with a 4.91 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 25+2⁄3 innings.[7] That summer, he played for the Kalamazoo Growlers of the Northwoods League.[11] He slashed .316/.395/.450 over 171 over at-bats with 27 runs, 11 doubles, four home runs, 28 RBIs, 22 walks, and four sacrifice flies, ending the season in the top five in each statistic, except on-base percentage, where he ranked seventh.[12] During his junior season at Duke in 2019, he pitched in seven games in which he was 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA and eight strikeouts over 8+1⁄3 innings, while batting .274/.358/.421 with six home runs and 31 RBIs in 190 at-bats and 48 starts.[7][4] That summer, he played with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League where he slashed .325/.418/.571 with four home runs over 77 at-bats with 24 RBIs and was named a league all-star. His batting average and on-base percentage were third in the league with his on-base plus slugging ranking tenth and his 24 RBIs ranking eighth.[13] Prior to a shortened senior season at Duke in 2020, he was named the 19th-best senior in the country by Perfect Gameand was selected as team captain.[4] He batted .304/.458/.589 with three home runs over 16 games while playing first base and pitching two scoreless innings in two games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Professional career

Mervis went unselected in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, and signed with the Chicago Cubs as an undrafted free agent as a first baseman.[14] Due to the unique rules of the shortened draft, Mervis was only able to make $20,000 upon signing.[15] He made his professional debut in 2021 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Low-A East, and also played in three games with the Iowa Cubs of the Triple-A East.[16] Over 72 games between both teams, he batted .208 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs.[7][3]

Mervis opened the 2022 season with the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Midwest League, for whom he batted .350/.389/.650 with seven home runs and 29 RBI over 27 games. He was promoted to the Tennessee Smokies of the Double-A Southern League in mid-May, for whom Mervis batted .300/.370/.596 with 14 home runs, 51 RBIs, and 16 doubles over 53 games.[17] In mid-July, he was promoted to Iowa, now members of the Triple-A International League.[18][19] The Cubs named him their Minor League Player of the Month for August 2022, during which he batted .305 with a .390 on-base percentage and a .926 OPS for Iowa.[20] Over 57 games with Iowa to end the season, he hit .297 with 15 home runs and 39 RBIs. His combined season totals between South Bend, Tennessee, and Iowa included a .309/.379/.605 slash line with 40 doubles, 36 home runs, and 119 RBIs.[21] He led all of the minor leagues with his 119 RBIs, and also led the minors in extra base hits, with 78.[22]

He was selected to play for the Mesa Solar Sox in the 2022 Arizona Fall League.[23][24][25] Jared Banner, Chicago's vice president of player development, said: "He has premium bat speed. His bat stays in the zone for a long time. And he is strong."[3]

References

  1. ^ "Mervis keeps mashing, Davis' return off to good start".
  2. ^ "Matt "Mash" Mervis, Walker Powell named organization Minor League player, pitcher of month | Chicago Cubs News". September 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "How Matt Mervis became the biggest surprise in Chicago Cubs' farm system". The Des Moines Register.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Matt Mervis - 2020 - Baseball".
  5. ^ "MLB draft: Oakton's Joe Rizzo, Flint Hill's Khalil Lee lead local prospects". The Washington Post. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  6. ^ "Matt Mervis Class of 2016 - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA".
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Matt Mervis Amateur, College & Minor Leagues Statistics".
  8. ^ "2016 Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League Batting Leaders".
  9. ^ https://s3.amazonaws.com/goduke.com/documents/2020/8/12/2019_2020_Annual_Report.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  10. ^ "Nationals Day 3 draft wrap: College pitchers win the day". The Washington Post. 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  11. ^ "South Bend Cubs Matt Mervis hot start gets him called up to Tennessee Smokies".
  12. ^ "2018 Kalamazoo Growlers Statistics".
  13. ^ "#47 Matthew Mervis". pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  14. ^ "Duke baseball standout Matt Mervis signs with Chicago Cubs as UDFA". June 15, 2020.
  15. ^ "Duke baseball's Matt Mervis, Thomas Girard sign as undrafted free agents - The Chronicle". Duke Chronicle. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  16. ^ Augusta GreenJackets (2021-07-08). "Pelicans Ride Big First Inning to 7-5 Victory". Wrdw.com. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  17. ^ "South Bend Cubs' Matt Mervis' great start gets him moved up to AA". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  18. ^ "Cubs' Matt Mervis' Road from Undrafted to Red-Hot Prospect".
  19. ^ "Mervis' power (33 HRS) continues to impress". MLB.com.
  20. ^ "Cubs Name Matt Mervis MiLB Player of Month, Walker Powell Pitcher of Month for August". September 4, 2022.
  21. ^ "Matt Mervis Stats, Fantasy & News".
  22. ^ Staff, B. A. "Vaun Brown, Moises Gomez Finish Season Among MiLB Kings". www.baseballamerica.com.
  23. ^ "Brennen Davis, Matt Mervis among 7 Cubs going to the Arizona Fall League". September 14, 2022.
  24. ^ "Chicago Cubs Prospect Matt Mervis Maintains Torrid Pace". September 12, 2022.
  25. ^ "Is Cubs prospect Matt Mervis 'the next Anthony Rizzo'?".
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