American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report name Winnipeg Goldeyes right-hander Joey Matulovich as American Association Pitcher of the Week for Week 5 of the 2024 season.

Goldeyes RHP Joey Matulovich Named Pitcher of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Winnipeg Goldeyes right-hander Joey Matulovich as the Pitcher of the Week for Week 5 of the 2024 season. Matulovich had a great week, winning both of his starts while posting a 0.60 ERA.

The right-hander made his first start of the week on Monday, allowing two unearned runs in six innings in a 7-2 victory over the Kane County Cougars. Matulovich rolled through the first five innings, allowing a single hit in the second and fourth innings. In the sixth, he allowed back-to-back singles to begin the frame and loaded the bases on a hit by pitch with one out. It looked like he might get out of the jam, but an error kept the inning alive while scoring a run, and a sacrifice fly capped off the scoring for the Cougars.

Matulovich came out after six, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out eight. He threw 91 pitches in the contest, 64 for strikes.

In his next outing, the right-hander dominated the Milwaukee Milkmen, blanking them through the first eight innings. Matulovich was on fire, retiring the first nine batters of the game, including striking out six through that span. A single to lead off the fourth ended the streak and he allowed a two-out walk in the inning, but was able to end the threat without allowing a run.

In the sixth, the Milkmen threatened again, beginning the inning with a double and a single. However, the Goldeyes hurler retired the next three batters without allowing a run to score. He gave up one more single in the eighth, but Milwaukee was not able to break through. The Milkmen finally got on the board in the ninth on a two-out double and a single.

Matulovich was able to finish out the complete game, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out 14. That was a single game-high for the right-hander. Matulovich threw 118 pitches, 88 for strikes in the game. He struck out at least one batter in every inning.

For the week, Matulovich went 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA. He tossed 15 innings, allowing 10 hits, one walk, and one earned run, while striking out 22. He finished with an opponent batting average of .179 and a WHIP of 0.73. His 2.464 strikeout percentage was tops in the league.

Joey Matulovich was selected in the 20th round of the 2018 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent five seasons in the Brewers organization, reaching High-A Wisconsin in each of the last three seasons. In 17 starts and 78 relief appearances, the right-hander went 12-10 with a 4.66 ERA. He tossed 206.2 innings, striking out 257. Matulovich joined the Goldeyes last season, where he was 5-9 with a 3.78 ERA in 20 starts. He allowed just 101 hits and 32 walks while striking out 121 in 116.2 innings pitched. This season, Matulovich is off to a fast start, going 3-0 with a 2.32 ERA through his first five starts. He has allowed just 28 baserunners (22 hits and 6 walks) in 31 innings, striking out 31.

2024 American Association Pitchers of the Week

Week 1 – Ryan Zimmerman, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 2 – Ty Culbreth, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 3 – Davis Feldman, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Week 4 – Andres Diaz, Gary SouthShore RailCats

By Robert Pannier