Zebby Matthews Bio
Daniel Zebulon Matthews is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. Matthews was drafted in 2022 and made his MLB debut in August 2024, joining the Twins organization after development in the club’s minor league system.
Early Life and Background
Daniel Zebulon Matthews was born May 22, 2000. He attended Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva, North Carolina, where he played high school baseball before continuing his career at the collegiate level.
Matthews played college baseball at Western Carolina University. His time at Western Carolina prepared him for professional scouting attention and led to his selection in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.
Path to Baseball
Matthews entered professional baseball when the Minnesota Twins selected him in the eighth round, 234th overall, of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. After signing with the Twins, he began his pro career in the organization’s rookie and Single-A levels.
He spent his first professional season with the Florida Complex League Twins and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels at the Single-A level. Early professional assignments focused on building his workload and translating his college experience to a pro schedule.
Zebby Matthews Career
Early Career (2022–2023)
Following the 2022 draft and his initial professional appearances, Matthews returned to Fort Myers for the start of the 2023 season before earning promotion to the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels. Over the 2023 campaign across the two affiliates, he appeared in 22 games, making 20 starts.
In that 2023 span he compiled a 7–3 record with a 3.84 earned run average and recorded 112 strikeouts across 105 1/3 innings pitched. Those results established him as a productive developing arm within the Twins’ minor league system.
Minor League Breakthrough (2023–2024)
Matthews’s 2023 performance led to further opportunities in 2024. He began the 2024 season with the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels and later received promotions to the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. Those promotions tracked a steady rise through the Twins’ farm system during the 2024 campaign.
On August 13, 2024, the Minnesota Twins selected Matthews to their 40-man roster and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. In his rookie MLB season he made nine starts for Minnesota, posting a 1–4 record and a 6.69 earned run average with 43 strikeouts across 37 2/3 innings pitched.
Minnesota Twins Era (2024–Present)
Matthews joined the Minnesota Twins’ major league club in August 2024 and remained part of the organization through the 2026 season. He began the 2025 season optioned to Triple-A St. Paul but returned to pitch for Minnesota during the regular season, making multiple starts at the big-league level.
During the 2025 regular season he made 16 starts for Minnesota, compiling a 5–6 record and a 5.56 earned run average while striking out 88 batters across 79 1/3 innings pitched. The Twins again optioned Matthews to Triple-A St. Paul to begin the 2026 season.
Through June 29, 2026, Matthews’s cumulative major league totals included a 10–15 win–loss record, a 5.35 earned run average, and 177 strikeouts. Those figures cover his MLB innings from his debut in 2024 through the midpoint of the 2026 season.
Driving Style and Strengths
Matthews’s professional record shows an ability to generate strikeouts at both minor league and major league levels, reflected by double-digit strikeout totals in his 2023 minor league season and 177 MLB strikeouts through June 29, 2026. His workload across multiple levels indicates durability in starting roles across several seasons.
Notable Events and Milestones
Key milestones in Matthews’s career include his selection in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB draft, his progression through the Twins’ minor league system in 2023 and 2024, and his major league debut on August 13, 2024. The 2023 minor league season stands out for the volume of innings and strikeouts he logged.
Zebby Matthews Career Wins
Matthews’s verified wins encompass both minor league and major league results. In the 2023 minor league season he recorded seven wins, and his major league record through June 29, 2026 shows ten wins at the big-league level.
Major League Highlights
Matthews’s ascent to the majors culminated with his August 13, 2024 promotion by the Minnesota Twins. His MLB appearances in 2024 and 2025 included multiple starts and provided him with the opportunity to collect his first big-league wins, contributing to his 10 total major league victories through June 29, 2026.
Other Wins & Perfromances
At the minor league level, the 2023 season is the clearest verified highlight: Matthews posted a 7–3 record with a 3.84 ERA and 112 strikeouts across 105 1/3 innings while pitching for Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids. Those performances were instrumental in his promotions the following season.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season saw Matthews begin the year optioned to Triple-A St. Paul before appearing in 16 major league starts for the Minnesota Twins. Across those starts he produced a 5–6 record with a 5.56 earned run average and totaled 88 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings, reflecting the role he played in Minnesota’s rotation and depth plans that season.
His 2025 workload demonstrated that the organization relied on him for multiple starts at the major league level, and his statistical line that year provided measurable experience against MLB hitters. The Twins again used optioning decisions to manage his roster status, returning him to Triple-A St. Paul to begin 2026.
Matthews remains listed with the Minnesota Twins organization, and his career through mid-2026 shows an arm that progressed steadily from college baseball at Western Carolina University through the Twins’ farm system to sustained major league innings across 2024 and 2025.