Phillip Louis Maton III ( ; born March 25, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played college baseball at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...

. Maton was drafted by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in the 20th round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2017. He previously played for the Padres and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Amateur career

Maton attended Glenwood High School in

Chatham, Illinois Chatham is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. It is located 2.8 miles south of Springfield and has a retail trade area that extends into four other municipalities, including Springfield. The population was 11,500 as of the 20 ...

, and

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated La. Tech and Dawgs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has been ...

Professional career

Minor leagues

Maton was drafted by the

in the 20th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

. He made his professional debut that year with the Short Season-A

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home gam ...

. In 23 relief appearances, Maton pitched to a 4–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, 1.38

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and 58

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 32

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. In 2016, Maton pitched for the Class-A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

, Advanced-A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park se ...

, and Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

. He made a total of 38 appearances for the three teams, and posted a 5–3 record, 1.74 ERA, and 78 strikeouts in 51 innings. After the season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...

. Maton began the 2017 season with Triple-A El Paso.

San Diego Padres

On June 11, 2017, Maton was called up by the Padres after

Jake Esch Jacob Otto Esch (born March 27, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. He has played for the Great Britain national baseball team. Career Flo ...

was designated for assignment. Maton remained with the big league club for the rest of the season, pitching in a middle relief role. He finished the season with a 4.19 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 43 innings over 46 games. Maton started 2018 with Triple-A El Paso, but was quickly recalled to the majors when

Wil Myers William Bradford Myers (born December 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padre ...

went to the disabled list on April 4. On May 13, Maton went to the DL with a strained

lat Lat or LAT may refer to: Places * Lat, Fuman, village in Gilan Province, Iran * Lat, Rasht, village in Gilan Province, Iran * Lat, Mazandaran, village in Iran * Lat-e Disar, village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Lat, Qazvin, village in I ...

and returned to the team on June 21 after a rehab assignment. He was quickly optioned to Triple-A on June 24, but recalled again on July 9 after posting a sub-1.00 WHIP in six appearances in El Paso. Maton stayed with the Padres for the remainder of the year, again pitching in middle relief. For the season, he had a 4.37 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 47 innings. Maton's walk rate rose in 2018, and he was less effective after returning from his injury, posting a 0.56 ERA in his 16 innings before going on the DL and a 6.32 ERA with the Padres afterwards.

Cleveland Indians

On July 12, 2019, Maton was traded to the

in exchange for international bonus pool allotments. In Maton's subsequent 9 games with Cleveland, he posted a 2.92 ERA in 12 innings. With the Indians, Maton appeared in 23 games, compiling a 3–3 record with 4.57 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 21.2 innings pitched.

Houston Astros

2021

On July 30, 2021, Maton was traded to the

along with minor league

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Yainer Díaz in exchange for outfielder

Myles Straw Myles James Noble Straw (born October 17, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball d ...

. With Houston in 2021, Maton was 4–0 with a 4.97 ERA. In 27 games, he pitched innings.

2022

Maton avoided arbitration with the Astros on March 22,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, agreeing to a $1.55 million contract for the season. On June 15, 2022, Maton threw an

immaculate inning In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strike zone, strikes to a Batting (baseball), batter during his time at bat. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning, using the mi ...

in the seventh inning versus the Texas Rangers at

Globe Life Field Globe Life Field is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. It is located just south of Choctaw Stadium, the Rangers' former home ballpark. History Background On May ...

, striking out

Nathaniel Lowe David Nathaniel Lowe Jr. ( ; born July 7, 1995) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays. Amateur career Lowe attended Pope High ...

Ezequiel Durán Ezequiel Alberto Durán (born May 22, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Career New York Yankees Durán signed with the New York Yankees as ...

, and Brad Miller. In the second inning, teammate Luis Garcia had also struck out the same three batters for an immaculate inning, making this the first occasion in major league history of two immaculate innings pitched in a single game, on the same date. Maton's immaculate inning was the ninth in team history. In the 2022 season final on October 5, Maton faced his younger brother,

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

, in the major leagues for the first time, yielding a single. After the game, Maton punched a locker, which resulted in a fractured fifth metacarpal area on his right hand. He underwent surgery a day later and was ruled out for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

2023

On January 13,

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, Maton signed a one-year, $2.55 million contract with the Astros, avoiding salary arbitration.

Personal life

Maton’s two younger brothers also play baseball.

is a shortstop for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and Jacob is a pitcher who was drafted by the Mariners in 2018, but opted to play college baseball at Coastal Carolina. Maton is married to Katelynn Cook.

References

External links

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs bio
– archived March 5, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Maton, Phil 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Paducah, Kentucky Baseball players from Kentucky Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Cleveland Indians players Houston Astros players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs baseball players Tri-City Dust Devils players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players El Paso Chihuahuas players Columbus Clippers players Peoria Javelinas players

Amateur career

Professional career

Minor leagues

San Diego Padres

Cleveland Indians

Houston Astros

2021

2022

2023

Personal life

See also

References

External links