Steven Matz’s amazing Mets debut was the conclusion of a long journey

Roughly 15 months ago, I wrote the following after Steven Matz started to tear up the High-A Florida State League:

"With Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard on the cusp of their big league debuts,Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia dealing in the majors, and Matt Harvey on the comeback trail, Matz may be a bit overshadowed at the moment. However, Matz’s performance and potential is making him impossible to overlook."

I was far from alone in my praise and expectations for Matz, but watching him put it all together at Citi Field on Sunday was extra special.

Matz, who was drafted out of Ward Melville High School on Long Island in 2009, had close to three seasons derailed by injury before he even made his first professional pitch.

After finally getting past the Tommy John surgery and various maladies that held him up, Matz dominated every level of the minors on his way to Citi Field. He wasn’t as heralded as Harvey or Wheeler or Syndergaard, but he showed Sunday why so many people believe he’ll be force in the Mets’ rotation along with the aforementioned three pitchers and Jacob deGrom for the foreseeable future.

No, Matz doesn’t have the overpowering fastball that Syndergaard has, the huge personality and four plus pitches of Harvey, or the precision of deGrom. But he’s a left-hander with a fastball in the mid-90s who has the potential for two plus secondary pitches. As I’ve noted many times in the past, those types of pitchers are incredibly rare, and the Mets have a gem with Matz.

On Sunday, Matz started off his day by serving up a home run to Brandon Phillips. Once that was behind him — save for another solo homer, this time by Todd Frazier — he was dominant.