Matt Bowman


Matthew Chou Bowman is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball. He previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals.

High school and college

Bowman attended St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. As a senior he was All-Met Player of the Year and All-Conference as a shortstop and right-handed pitcher, and had a 0.70 ERA as a pitcher and a.419 average as a batter.
He played college baseball for the Princeton Tigers at Princeton University from 2010 to 2012. He was both a pitcher and shortstop for the Tigers. He had a low-90s fastball that ran as high as 95 mph, a hard slider, a curveball, and a changeup. He was second-team all-Ivy League at shortstop as a sophomore. In 2012, as a junior, he went 4-2 with a 4.66 ERA in nine starts along with batting.308 with one home run in 33 games. During the summers in college, he pitched for the Bethesda Big Train.

Professional career

New York Mets

The New York Mets selected Bowman in the 13th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut that season for the Brooklyn Cyclones. He had a 2.45 earned run average in innings pitched. Bowman started 2013 with the Savannah Sand Gnats and was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets during the season. Over 21 starts he had a 10–4 win–loss record with a 3.05 ERA and 116 strikeouts. Bowman started 2014 with the Binghamton Mets and was promoted to the Las Vegas 51s in July; in 24 games between the two teams, he was 10-8 with a 3.21 ERA. He spent 2015 back with Las Vegas where he pitched to a 7-16 record and 5.53 ERA.

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Bowman in the 2015 Rule 5 draft. He made his MLB debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 6, 2016, throwing two innings with one hit allowed and two strikeouts. He earned his first MLB win on June 8, 2016 in relief against the Cincinnati Reds. Bowman finished his first MLB season with a 2–5 win–loss record along with a 3.46 ERA. In 2017, he was 3-6 with two saves and a 3.99 ERA in innings pitched in relief.
Bowman began 2018 back in St. Louis' bullpen. However, after compiling a 5.75 ERA in innings pitched with two stints on the disabled list, he was optioned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds on July 5. He was recalled by St. Louis on July 18 and optioned back to Memphis on July 21, and spent the remainder of the season there. In 22 relief appearances for the Cardinals he was 0-2 with a 6.26 ERA, and in 18 relief appearances for Memphis, he compiled a 0-1 record with a 4.30 ERA.

Cincinnati Reds

On November 2, 2018, Bowman was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. He began the 2019 season with the Louisville Bats, and was promoted to the Reds in May.