Meet Phillies prospect Matthew Fisher, the big bonus pitcher with football roots

New York Times

a day ago

Evansville, Ind., population of 115,395, is not a small town.
But it is just small enough that, when Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly wanted to reach local high school pitching prospect Matthew Fisher, they were only three degrees removed. Mattingly, an Evansville native, is best friends with Chris Owen, the brother of Fisher's former quarterback coach. The Owen brothers connected Fisher's family with Mattingly in June.
Advertisement
There was no grand plan. Mattingly just wanted to talk with Fisher and his family as a friend, he said, 'to give them a sense of what the draft's like, what the draft combine is like and answer any questions they may have had.'
Fisher went to Reitz Memorial High School, as did Mattingly's wife and his father, Don. The prospect was considering forgoing a college commitment for professional baseball, as Mattingly did in 2006. The Mattingly name carries weight in Evansville, Fisher said, so hearing from the Phillies GM 'meant everything.'
'We're only a baseball player for so many hours each day,' Fisher said. 'It is a big adjustment for an 18-, 19-year-old kid to go from living at home, being in high school to living on your own, many hours away from your family, and basically playing baseball for a living. Having his viewpoint on all of those things was extremely beneficial.'
A month later, the Phillies selected Fisher as their seventh-round pick and No. 221 overall. It came after a year-plus of scouting the touted prep right-hander, who withdrew his commitment to Indiana University to sign with Philadelphia. Fisher, projected to be a Day 1 pick and ranked as the No. 47 prospect by The Athletic's Keith Law, signed for first-day money. His bonus of $1.25 million was a seventh-round record, nearly $1 million over slot and equivalent to the slot value of the No. 68 pick in the draft.
Fisher utilizes a four-pitch mix: fastball, curveball, changeup and slider. His fastball sat in the low to mid 90s, with a high spin rate, and his curveball is sharp. He finished his senior season with a 0.76 ERA in 36 2/3 innings, as he was held to a limited pitch count across April and May, with 61 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Baseball always came first for Fisher, who has early memories of watching St. Louis Cardinals games and throwing baseballs in the family room. But his football career also helped him develop the athleticism that impressed the Phillies. He was an All-State quarterback as a senior, leading Memorial to an undefeated 2024 regular season with 2,779 passing yards and 42 touchdowns.
Advertisement
That was how Mattingly first heard about Fisher. It was fall 2024, and his in-laws were in town. They pulled up Memorial's IHSAA playoff game on the computer, gushing about how great the quarterback was.
In December, Brian Barber, the Phillies' assistant general manager for scouting, came to Mattingly and told him there was a strong pitching prospect in his hometown. Mattingly connected the dots: It was the same kid.
Area scout Derrick Ross had laid the groundwork for the Phillies on Fisher months earlier. He first saw the righty in June 2024, impressed by his strike-throwing ability.
'He's super athletic,' Ross said. 'He moves down the mound well, and you just don't see that as much anymore. You see guys that are trying to throw as hard as they can to get the best data, the best velocity, to get to the next level. Because stuff does matter, but he had a combination of stuff with his unique fastball and this real natural ability to spin a baseball.'
Fisher had a pitching coach, but Ross said much of his approach looked natural. The way he moved on the mound seemed easy. So did the ball out of his hand, Ross said, and 'then, boom — it gets up on a hitter.'
It's a quality that could stem from his football roots. Ross watched some of Fisher's tape and found that he could make accurate throws from different angles on the run.
'So I'm excited to see when he gets down with our guys and gals (in Clearwater, Fla.), just how he's going to take to it,' Ross said, 'because he's extremely smart. He's got very high aptitude. He's got the ability to pick things up quickly.'
Fisher said playing football and baseball allowed him to keep his body loose and move in different ways. Playing football in front of big crowds and friends also fed his competitive nature: 'There's not much that's like Friday Night Lights,' he said.
Advertisement
At times, it was weird to be a two-sport athlete at baseball tournaments, Fisher said, competing with kids who were 'gone all summer from their homes, playing baseball.' He was typically at a tournament with his club team, Artillery, one day, then returning to Evansville for football practice the next.
One night before a tournament in summer 2023, Fisher went to a football scrimmage at 4 p.m. on a Tuesday, playing in seven versus seven and 11 versus 11 scrimmages. He got home around 7 p.m., throwing a few baseballs to his mom in the little daylight that was left. They were on the road to Hoover, Ala., for a tournament shortly after.
'We got into the Hoover area, like 2:30 a.m.,' he said. 'We woke up at 5:30, and I got myself ready to go pitch at 8. After that game was over, around 10, we packed up and made the five and a half hour trek back home. I was back for football practice that night — Wednesday night. It started at 5:30 p.m.'
Ross, who has scouted for 20 years, said there were more players like Fisher when he began scouting — less coached, more natural ability, more multi-sport athletes.
'He's a throwback guy that fits in today's game,' Ross said.
At the combine in Phoenix, Ariz., Barber walked away impressed by Fisher's toughness. It's a quality the Phillies seek in high school starters: 'You have to be strong and you have to be tough to make it through that (minor-league) journey,' Barber said.
Ross saw the trait as he scouted Fisher. He remembered a rainy playoff game he watched. The environment was difficult to play in.
'Then he went longer than the quote, unquote pitch count,' Ross said. 'He basically threw the pitch count out the window and wanted to go for the win for his team. A lot of guys will take themselves out after a certain amount of pitches. He just said, 'No. I'm staying in.''
Advertisement
There was a lot the Phillies liked about Fisher: the athleticism, the natural ability, strike-throwing, his authenticity in conversations. So, the club was a bit surprised when he was still available on Day 2 of the draft.
'It was probably early, before Day 2 started, that we were looking at his name and it's like, 'Hey, what if?'' Barber said. 'But you just don't know what the 'if' is at that time.'
Then the Phillies worked the phones. Club officials placed calls to Fisher and his advisor to gauge the interest level and negotiate.
From Fisher's side, things were hectic as he fielded calls from organizations and negotiated the financial side along with his advisor and family. He liked the Phillies' pitching development and care for their players. Still, it was a hard decision to forgo college. He loved the staff at Indiana, which he said was 'extremely gracious' throughout the process.
Now, Fisher is adjusting to life at the Phillies' complex in Clearwater. Gone are the days of school from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., baseball practice from 3-5, homework afterward, then sleep and repeating it all the next day. Adjusting to the lifestyle and finding a routine are probably the biggest things, he said, then figuring out what areas he needs to attack to become a better player — whether it's the weight room, nutrition or pitching.
'There's just so many aspects that go into it now,' he said.
The goals are broad. They'll narrow, he said, while preparing for spring training and his first full season of pro baseball.
Fisher, 19, has a winding road ahead. At the end of it, Ross envisions him as a middle-of-rotation starter who can eat innings because of his strike-throwing ability.
'He's got real weapons, from a secondary standpoint,' Ross said. 'And the fastball, in my opinion, is going to be better now that he's got to the first time in his life that he's just focusing on pitching. There's no football. The sky's the limit.'
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle