A Patch From A Blue Devil

Heading into the 2015 college baseball season there were many people who followed amateur baseball who had Duke pitcher Michael Matuella pegged as the top draft pick in last summer's June draft.  Welp, Matuella never finished the year and ended up undergoing Tommy John.  The Rangers still drafted him in the third round last summer.  

Matuella sat out the entire season last year and returned to the mound for a short time this summer for the Rangers.  In fact, he made one start on an injury rehab for the the team's low A Spokane Indians.  Matuella pitched 3 innings, allowed one hit, and gave up no runs.  He also hurt his arm again and is out for the rest of this summer.  Kind of a bummer.  

I am still trying to find some cards of the former Duke star and ran across a really nice one out of Leaf Trinity a few weeks back.....

I am not sure about the whole player-worn patch out of a 2015 product with a piece of Rangers jersey, but I guess I did not pay very much for the card and it looks really cool.  Maybe he jogged around the field in this jersey or something.  In any case, I really enjoyed watching him play while he was at Duke and will continue to collect his cards regardless of whether he makes it back from his injuries.  

Since many probably did not get a chance to see him in college, here's a little video Baseball America put together of him pitching against UNC.