The Astros are promoting infield prospect Brice Matthews, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The club is off today but he’ll join them tomorrow. The Astros will need to select him to the 40-man roster and open an active roster spot.
Matthews, 23, was the club’s first-round pick two summers ago. The Astros selected him with the 28th overall pick of the 2023 draft and signed him with a bonus of just under $2.5MM. The Nebraska product drew praise from scouts for his well-rounded toolset and patient approach. More pessimistic evaluators expressed concern about his elevated swing-and-miss rates while questioning whether he had the arm strength to stick on the left side of the infield.
The righty-hitting infielder has lived up to that profile this year. He’s in his first full season at Triple-A after making a 12-game cameo there last year. Matthews carries a .283/.400/.476 slash line through 325 plate appearances. He has connected on 10 home runs and stolen 25 bases in 31 attempts. He has walked at a massive 15.4% clip while striking out more than 30% of the time. His average exit velocity and hard contact rate are both above the MLB averages. Matthews has shown an above-average power/speed combination, a willingness to work deep counts, and below-average contact skills.
Drafted as a shortstop, Matthews has played more second base this year. That’s also not surprising given the questions about his arm strength. Matthews wouldn’t have a long-term path to playing time at shortstop on a team with Jeremy Peña regardless. Peña is currently on the shelf with a broken rib, pushing Mauricio Dubón more frequently to the left side of the infield. That has drawn Jose Altuve back in at second base, moving Taylor Trammell into the starting left field role.
The Astros are facing another potential injured list stint, as center fielder Jake Meyers is being evaluated for a right calf problem. Matthews has two professional innings of outfield experience. It’s unlikely the Astros would throw him into outfield work. (They did push rookie Cam Smith from third base to right field, though he at least had a couple weeks to work out there during Spring Training.) Playing Matthews at second base could move Altuve back to left field and push Trammell to center if Meyers is out of action.
Matthews will remain under club control for at least six full seasons after this one. He won’t be eligible for arbitration for at least three years. There’s a decent chance he’ll be optioned back to the minors at some point, especially if Peña makes a quick return that moves Dubón back to the keystone. Houston fans will get their first look at one of the organization’s better hitting prospects, who will step into a club that has built a 6.5 game cushion in the AL West despite myriad injuries.
