Back in January, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed 16-year-old right-handed pitcher David Matoma from Uganda during the international signing period. He became just the third Ugandan-born player to sign, joining Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male, each of whom joined the Las Angeles Dodgers during the previous international signing period.
Matoma was quite familiar with Serunkuma and Male. The trio are from the same town (Luwero) and attended the same boarding school, where they all played on the same team from 2016-2022.
“My family is happy for me because I’ve been playing baseball for so long,” Matoma said at the time, via MLB.com.
At the age of 16, Matoma already had a fastball topping out at 93 MPH.
Here is bullpen footage of David Matoma, the right-handed pitcher who the Pirates signed from Uganda. Matoma, who turns 17 in February, features a fastball (89-92), slider (83-84) and changeup (~81). pic.twitter.com/SxZb4iP7mm
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) January 19, 2023
This past Thursday, Matoma, now 17, made his professional debut for the DSL Pirates Black and tossed two scoreless innings. And while he did not record a strikeout, Matoma was clocked in at an impressive 101 MPH.
The Pirates signed pitcher David Matoma out of Uganda in January. He was hitting 93 MPH with his fastball then. The 17-year-old debuted in pro ball yesterday with two scoreless innings and he reached 101 MPH https://t.co/HGDAt0l7gn
— John Dreker (@JohnDreker) June 9, 2023
Over his two innings, Matoma threw 12 total pitches, allowing two hits and issuing one walk.
It’s unclear whether Matoma projects as a starter or a reliever but either way, he’s a prospect worth keeping an eye on.
