Mat Latos

Mat Latos
Latos major league debut with the San Diego Padres on July 19, 2009.
San Diego Padres — No. 38
Starting Pitcher
Born: December 9, 1987 (1987-12-09) (age 23) Alexandria, Virginia
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 19, 2009 for the San Diego Padres
Career statistics (through September 17, 2010)
Won-loss record	25-29
Earned run average	3.46
Strikeouts	400
Teams
San Diego Padres (2009-present)

Mathew Adam "Mat" Latos (born December 9, 1987 in Alexandria, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres.

High school and college

Latos attended Coconut Creek High School in Coconut Creek, Florida. He was drafted by the Padres in the 11th round (333rd overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Although scouts throughout baseball agreed he had first-round talent, he fell in the draft since his personality made him difficult to handle in high school.^[1] The Padres didn’t sign him until he spent a year at Broward College where he matured. The Padres paid Latos $1.25 million a few days before he would have re-entered the draft in 2007.^[1]

Minor league career

Latos started his pro career at Eugene, the Rookie league farm team for the San Diego Padres, in 2007. In 2008, Latos spent time in Eugene again, and was promoted to Class A Fort Wayne.

Latos was invited to the Padres spring training in 2009, but suffered a minor ankle sprain. He then started the season in Fort Wayne, and after 4 starts he allowed only 1 run, and was promoted to the Class AA San Antonio Missions. At San Antonio, Mat had 5 wins and 1 loss, and threw 5 perfect innings in his last start there on July 9.

Latos was selected to play in the 2009 All-Star Futures Game, and threw one scoreless inning. He was promoted to make his major league debut on Sunday, July 19, 2009 against the Colorado Rockies.^[2]

San Diego Padres

In his major league debut on July 19, 2009, Latos went 4 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs while striking out 4, in 75 pitches. Latos was the first pitcher in Padres history to win four of his first five career starts.^[3]

On May 13, 2010, Latos threw a complete game shutout against the division foe San Francisco Giants. The only hit he allowed was an infield single. The Padres won the game 1-0. After posting a 5.47 ERA through May 1, Latos lowered his ERA down to 2.45 right before the All Star Break, also leading the league in BAA and WHIP (.193 and 0.97 respectively). On July 8, 2010, Latos went seven scoreless innings, 4 hits, and hit his first career home run.

On September 7, 2010, Latos set a major league record with a 7 inning, 10 strikeout performance in a win against the Dodgers. The victory was Latos' 15th consecutive start logging at least 5 innings and allowing 2 or fewer earned runs, the longest streak in modern baseball history (since 1900) according to Elias Sports Bureau. Previously the mark had been set by Greg Maddux (1993–94) and Mike Scott (1986), who had such streaks lasting 14 starts.^[4]. That was Latos' last victory of the 2010 season; he lost his last five starts, culminating with a 3-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants on October 3 that, combined with an Atlanta Braves win, eliminated the Padres from playoff contention.

Latos finished the 2010 season with a 14-10 record, 2.92 ERA (13th in the majors), 189 strikeouts (18th), and a WHIP of 1.09 (T-7th). The San Diego Union-Tribune attributed his struggles at the end of the year to fatigue, as he pitched 189 ²⁄₃ innings for the season, 66 ²⁄₃ more than in 2009.^[5]

Latos started 2011 on the disabled list due to a spring training shoulder injury.^[5] He lost his first four starts of the season, extending his losing streak to nine consecutive starts dating back to 2010. The streak tied the longest streak in Padres history, held by Andy Benes and Dennis Rasmussen.^[6] Latos had a no-decision in his next start after the bullpen blew a save opportunity, preventing him from earning a win.^[7] He would lose another decision for a 10-game losing streak that was one shy of the club record held by Gary Ross. Latos won on May 15 against the Colorado Rockies to end his losing streak.^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Henson, Steve (September 11, 2010). "Latos belongs in the NL Cy Young discussion". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5yHAkaqjN. 
2. ^ Brock, Corey (2009-07-18). "Latos will make Sunday's start for Padres". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090714&content_id=5869652&vkey=news_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd&partnerId=rss_sd. Retrieved 2009-11-07. 
3. ^ Fallstrom, R.B. (August 15, 2009). "Cardinals whip Padres 9-2 behind Wainwright". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/2009-08-14-2527710119_x.htm. Retrieved May 16, 2010. 
4. ^ "Mat Latos K's 10 in return from flu as Padres maintain lead in NL West". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 7, 2010. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5yH8siFov. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Norcross, Don (April 26, 2011). "Latos fighting to right slow start". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5yH7yjjNQ. 
6. ^ Wilson, Bernie (April 27, 2011). "Padres ace Mat Latos loses 9th straight start". yahoo.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5yH6Xz7aA. 
7. ^ Center, Bill (May 3, 2011). "Padres battle back to grab win from Pirates on Johnson’s blast". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5ypmrkQ2d. 
8. ^ Norcross, Don (May 15, 2011). "Latos stops winless streak in Denver". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5ypnLlYyp. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Persondata
Name	Latos, Mat
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 9, 1987
Place of birth	Alexandria, Virginia
Date of death
Place of death