Phan Coverage of the Phillies Draft

Round 17 (509) - Scott Mathieson

Hometown	Aldergrove, BC
School	Aldergrove Secondary School
School Type/Year	High School / Senior
Position	RHP
Bats-Throws	R-R
Height	6-3
Weight	190
Birth Date	2-27-1984
Age When Drafted	18
Signing Status	Signed
Signing Date	7-2-2002
First Pro Team	Gulf Coast League
2002 School	Accepted scholarship to El Paso Junior College

Draft History

•  Has never been drafted.


View All Phillies 17th Round Picks



Amateur Stats

Langley Blaze

Year	W-L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	WP	BK
2002	9-2	1.24	11	62.0	47	21	11	20	49	2	0
2000	16-2	1.04	-	-	-	-	-	-	87	-	-

Professional Stats

Year	Team	W-L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	WP	BK
2005	Clearwater (A)	3-8	4.14	23	121.2	111	62	56	34	118	7	0
2004	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2003	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2002	GCL (R)	0-2	5.40	7	16.2	24	11	10	6	15	0	1

Amateur Honors

• Member of the Team BC select team.
• Member of the Canadian National team.
• MVP Babe Ruth Provincials 2000.
• Provincial high school athlete of the year award 2000/2001.
• Most outstanding high school cross country award 1999/2000.
• 4rth ranked prospect at 2002 Perfect Game Indoor Showcase.


Interesting Tidbits

• From Scott's father, Doug Mathieson: My Dad (Scott,s grandfather) tried out for the Philadelphia Athletics pre war during the Connie Mack era and then went on to play ball in the Air Force (6'5 first baseman) in Pearl Harbour and Kanehoe, Hi. He always was a Phillies fan after that. He previously played semi pro up in Canada.


Quotes (from player)



Quotes (from others)

Major League Scouting Bureau:  Tall, large frame, slender build, extra-long arms and legs. Loose, quick arm with three-quarter delivery. Fastball tails and drops down for occasional different looks and better movement. Curve breaks down with depth. Keeps arm speed on straight change that sinks and tails. Competitor.
 
Phillies Scouting Director Marti Wolever: He's a high-ceiling kid from Canada. He's a 6-foot-4 right-hander who throws 89-90. He's got to thaw out a little bit but he's got a lot to work with.
 
Baseball America / Perfect Game Analysis :  Mathieson has a chance to be extra special. His arm works great right now and he has that major league physique. He topped out in the 88-89 mph range at the Indoor with outstanding stuff and command. He looks much younger than most seniors and projects off the charts. We're not always right, but we feel pretty sure about this kid.
 
BA/Perfect Game report: Outstanding potential, showed 90 mph fastball and a big frame to work with.
 
Langley Blaze coach Jason Andrew:  Scott Mathieson is a 6'4 196lb rhp that has played with the Blaze for the past three years and is a very special player. A member of the Team BC select team.  A member of the Canadian National team.  Current fastball 89-90 topped 93...  large frame can fill out 20 lbs easily... effortless mechanics...  loose arm projected to be high 90s guy.   Throws a fork type change with late drop. Biting curve and drops down for 87 mph slider that is devastating.  Competitive player who will not let himself lose, handles pressure well.  Many full ride college options although prefers to sign if it makes sense. Has committed to El Paso JC, and considering Hawaii, Oregon State or Arizona St as possibles, if not signed.  Competed against MLB rookie teams (Braves and Astros) this spring with the National team training camp and dominated.  Great work ethic, polite and a gentleman. Very likeable kid with great makeup for pros.  This area and league has produced Larry Walker, Ryan Dempster, Paul Spoljaric, Aaron Myette, Adam Loewen and Jeff Francis and we feel Scott will be as good or better.  School options may have moved him to the 17th round, although would sign if it is reasonable.

Langley Blaze Newsletter (6/23/2002): He has plans to play with the Jr National team and is slotted as the #1 starter for the International World Jr Cup held in Quebec vs US Jr National, Italy, Latin America, Korea, Taiwan, Europe ect. He will leave us July 4 and practice and play exhibition games in the Toronto Blue Jays Sky Dome until they leave for the tournament Aug 1-11. The Phillies scout has been up to visit several times since the draft and if he does not sign before July 4 he will commit to the National team for the summer. He tells me he would prefer to sign now and get going but the Phillies are waiting to see where they stand with other picks ect. I would think it would be cheaper in the long run to sign him now than wait. He also is getting lots of D1 pressure and offers. The Oregon State guy was at the game last thursday when Scott threw a 1 hitter vs the Abby Cardinals who are a pretty good team and hit 93 once, 92mph 5 times and was 89-90 mostly. Changeup was 77mph and dropping late.The Oregon State guy was blown away. He feels comfortable with El Paso as the coach is the ex pitching coach at Univ of Arizona and is the current pitching coach of the US Jr National team and they will meet up in Quebec.

Coach Andrew: Scott most likely dropped down because of high D1 school interest and also aside from the two kids drafted from Canada in the first round and Canadian kids are often overlooked and not seen on a regular basis as kids in the southern states. I know that after the draft, he was beseiged upon from D1 schools who didn't think they had a chance before. He is not the type of kid to hold out for out of line money... I do know that in a year this kid will put on some pounds and velocity and will be only better, as some players seem to level out he will not. He is by far the hardest worker and most athletic kid I have coached. Many compare him to Ryan Dempster or Aaron Myette (both from this area) who I have coached against but Scott has more mound presence and potential as far as I see. He has the same slider as Jeff Zimmerman who is a local and has worked out in the winter with our pitchers. We are of course biased but see good things for Scott. He also is one of the leagues better hitters and recently hit two home runs in a game with one at least 420. He often DH's and plays a little first base.

Coach Andrew: We were in Richland Wa, over the weekend for the Summer Classic featuring the best Northwest teams and the Phillies scout came down to talk with Scott and his Dad. Scott pitched the second game of the tournament and had quite a game. Threw a 87 pitch complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts and 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and touched 93 and worked all day low on each corner with a changeup that made guys look foolish. He also hit a home run and went 8-11 in the tournament as he DH's and plays first. The negotiations with the Phillies seemed to be back and forth but they agreed on Sunday and it was quite emotional on the bench as he has been a quiet leader on the team since he was 15. He and his teammates were (not to mention the coaches) were almost in tears at the last out. He is certainly a special kid and was always the one to give encouragment to a player when he struggled. The Phillies have seen his talent but as far as I am concerned they probably don't know yet about his drive and character... Personally I think the Phillies got a great deal and Scott could have played head games and signed Div 1, as Arizona State and Hawaii were all over him. He had a genuine desire to turn pro and was honest about it. We are proud of him and know he will progress. One of the local scouts told me today that he was a bit shocked that Scott signed and thought for certain he was school bound.


Links

Langley Blaze Official Scott Mathieson Profile


Summary

It's not often that Canada produces the kind of talent it made available in this year's draft.  Left-handers Adam Loewen and Jeff Francis were both premium picks, but if he's as good as Coach Jason Andrew of the Langley Blaze says he is then when all is said and done, the Phillies may come away with the best one of the three.  Unlike Phillies' 2nd round selection Zack Sergovia, Mathieson is more of the prototypical power pitcher - tall and lanky with great potential to get stronger and throw much harder.  His potential is something that isn't in question.  What may be in question, however, is his immediate signability.  If the Phillies aren't able to reach an agreement, and according to Coach Andrew, it's something that's do-able if the Phillies step up to the plate, then they have to hope that Mathieson follows through with his plans to attend El Paso JC.

One might also be concerned with the level of competition in Canada, given the cold climate, but Mathieson has pitched against international competition for a couple of years now and has been highly successful.  He's also pitched against minor league batters during spring training and, as Coach Andrew says, "dominated."  It seems that the level of competition that he's faced is as good or better than he would have faced had he been a US high schooler.  He has the poise and character to succeed and could advance quickly once he gets his feet wet.  Either this summer or next, he's likely be started at the GCL level, given that he's only 18 years old right now.

Years from now when we look back at the draft of 2002, Mathieson could be that one player that stands out above the rest.



Photo/Information Credits

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