A Conversation With Minnesota Twins 2019 Second-Rounder Matt Canterino

Matt Canterino was drafted out of Rice University a year ago this week. The now 22-year-old right-hander was selected in the second round by the Minnesota Twins, and soon thereafter signed his first professional contract. As is the case for every young player who gets to live that dream, it was an experience he won’t soon forget.

His subsequent introduction to pro ball centered more on education than on innings. Canterino took the mound just seven times, tossing 25 stellar frames — 31 strikeouts and eight hits allowed — between the rookie-level Gulf Coast League and the Low-A Midwest League. Most notably, he became acquainted with technology that showed him not only how his arsenal plays, but how his four-pitch mix can be optimized.

Canterino — No. 13 on our Twins Top Prospects list — discussed his draft experience, and his first-year education, over the phone from his home in Texas.

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David Laurila: What was draft day like for you?

Matt Canterino: “It was more exciting than anything. I had a decent idea of where I’d be going — obviously nothing was set in stone — so to see that all come together once things got rolling into where I was projected to go… it was pretty surreal. It was also a dream come true. I feel like I’m still living a dream.”

Laurila: Did you go where you expected?

Canterino: “Yes. My agent gave me a range, and I pretty much fell right in the middle of it. Those were the expectations I went in with, and once that range started coming around, I realized there might be kind of a crunch time. But it happened really quick for me. There wasn’t much banter. It was a couple of teams, then one team, and all of a sudden I was drafted.”

Laurila: When did you start tuning in to the draft coverage?

Canterino: “I watched the whole night. I had friends who were going to be drafted that night, too, so I wanted to support them. There was never really a [pick] where I was thinking, ‘This is going to be me,’ until my agent called and presented what he was hearing. The Twins and the Diamondbacks were two of the teams interested. We talked back and forth for a quick second, and the next thing I knew, I was drafted by the Twins. That was at 54. The D-backs picked at 56.”

Laurila: When did you sign, and how long after that were you playing in games?

Canterino: “I was drafted on [June] 3rd, and I think I signed around the 13th. A couple of days later I was in Florida doing workouts. It was different for me than it is for some players. I’d thrown a lot in college, around 100 innings, and speaking with the pitching coordinators we decided that I’d be taking it easy out of the get-go. I did what was basically a six-week, active-recovery period in the [Gulf Coast League]. Whereas I had friends who signed and were playing games a week later, I was throwing bullpens and working on certain things before getting into games toward the middle of the summer. I had a couple of short outings in the CCL, then reported to Cedar Rapids.”

Laurila: What were the ‘certain things’ the Twins had you working on?

Canterino: “Up to that point I’d never been familiarized with the type of technology the Twins use, the analytics type of stuff. It was basically to help me get to know myself better as a pitcher. For instance, there are things I do well and we were able to put a number to [them]; we could kind of reinforce those things, and also see if there were things I could get more out of.”

Laurila: I assume you’re referring to Rapsodo data?

Canterino: “Yes, Rapsodo and Edgertronic. TrackMan is obviously in the same boat. It was all very constructive, because I hadn’t really familiarized myself with that. I was able to kind of understand that before even getting into games, so I wouldn’t have to try to do too much at once.”

Laurila: Didn’t you have access to those things at Rice?

Canterino: “No. They didn’t have a Rapsodo during my time there. They do now.”

Laurila: What did you learn about your pitches?

Canterino: “In college, I always knew that my fastball played well up in the zone. To see [data] showing that I’m getting a lot of carry on my fastball kind of clicked for me. Also, I’d shifted away from my curveball a little bit in my junior year. I was throwing my slider more, but [the data] put to paper that my curveball paired better with my fastball than my slider did. It’s not as though I’m scrapping my slider — I’m not — but I maybe want to use the curveball more that I did in college.

“I also saw that while I was getting enough velo difference, the movement on my changeup was pretty similar to my fastball. If I was able to differ that movement, my changeup would become a better pitch. I was already getting about an 8 mph difference, and if you’re a hitter, processing that is tough if the pitch looks the same as your fastball; it’s going to induce a tough swing. Adding more movement adds a second variable to that.”

Laurila: How are you going about creating more movement?

Canterino: “Many of the strides I’ve made on my changeup came over the offseason. The initial strides were with what I felt and saw, as opposed to using data. How it felt in my hand was important, so it was finding a grip that worked for me. That ended up being kind of a modified split circle change. Once I started feeling good with that grip is when I hopped on the Rapsodo to see what kind of metrics it was producing. What I saw was that I was maintaining the velo difference that already made my changeup a decent pitch, and I was also getting more movement to differentiate it from my fastball. I’m getting right around 10 inches of depth, whereas before I was probably getting two or three inches of sink. I obviously haven’t had much chance to throw it against hitters yet, but I can tell that it’s going to be a better pitch for me.”

Laurila: Is it an actual split?

Canterino: “I wouldn’t call it a split. It’s a little bit like a Vulcan grip. I still have the circle on the side — my old changeup was a regular circle — but I moved my middle finger down closer to my index finger, around the ball. My ring finger and pinky stayed relatively in the sam spot.”

Laurila: Do you anticipate throwing the changeup more often in pro ball than you did at Rice?

Canterino: “Yes, that’s something the Twins and I talked about as being my next goal. It will make me a more-complete pitcher.”

Laurila: When Eric Longenhagen wrote up your prospect profile, he opined that there is “effort and violence” in your delivery. Is that accurate?

Canterino: “I’m always trying to throw hard, obviously, but I’ve never thought of myself as being out of control. I am a little herky-jerky, but that kind of just evolved to help give me cues for where I need in each part of my delivery. They’re kind of like checkpoints to keep myself on time between my arm and my body, and feel like I’m in sync. At that point I’m just trying to line everything up and throw hard. So I don’t feel like I’m super high-effort. I understand why it might look like that, but I feel I’m always in control and know where the ball is going. I haven’t had any issues up to this point.”

Laurila: How long have you had that delivery?

Canterino: “It’s been the same since my sophomore year of high school. The way it developed is because my top half and bottom half were out of sync; my bottom half was getting ahead of my top half, so my arm was getting left behind. My arm was late, is a way that people might say it. So my leg pump and my hand raise just kind of come from me trying to move my top half and lower half in unison as I drive to the plate.”

Laurila: On last thing: Are there any pitchers you model yourself after, or is there anyone the Twins have suggested you pay particular attention to?”

Canterino: “[The Twins] don’t typecast me. It’s more like, ‘A guy who has a lot of carry to his fastball, like you do, and also a curveball with a lot of depth — the way they pair them — how do you think that works for you?’ It’s kind of like a discussion question almost.

“As for what I get out of watching other pitchers, I think you can learn from watching anybody. At the same time, one of my strengths is knowing how my stuff plays and how to work off of it. If someone were to ask me, ‘What would you throw here?’, I could tell them. But if they phrased it, ‘What do you think this pitcher will throw here?’, I’d usually have no idea. The way I look at the game is [based] on, ‘What do I do, and what do I do well?’ I can kind of tell what another pitcher does well — I can kind of guess that — but… there are so many nuances to what makes a person good, and what a person can improve on. I have all I can handle, just worrying about myself a little bit. If that makes sense.”

Laurila: For you, it’s basically been about feel and intuition, and now you have data to back most of that up. Is that accurate?

Canterino: “I think so, yes.”





David Laurila grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now writes about baseball from his home in Cambridge, Mass. He authored the Prospectus Q&A series at Baseball Prospectus from December 2006-May 2011 before being claimed off waivers by FanGraphs. He can be followed on Twitter @DavidLaurilaQA.

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jimbo
3 years ago

Terrific interview, thanks David! The silver lining this season is that there’s time for some articles you might otherwise miss. Have enjoyed your batter series and to hear Matt’s professional entry story is an insightful treat.