What to expect from Astros' Matthews in The Show

An Astros farm system that has made something of a brand out of discovering and cultivating unheralded prospect gems has flipped the script: the club is reportedly summoning its No. 1 prospect and 2023 first-round pick Brice Matthews to the big leagues in the heat of a summer pennant chase.

It’s not often an organization calls up a player who calls its city their own home. Matthews is a native suburban Houstonian who played for the Astros’ Youth Academy before going on to star at Atascocita HS in Humble, Texas. Undrafted out of high school, he went on to become one of the most impactful players in program history for the University of Nebraska.

Matthews, who was set to represent Houston during the 2025 All-Star Futures Game, is reportedly getting the call now due to injuries to Jeremy Peña (fractured rib) and Jake Meyers (calf). The 23-year-old has primarily played second base this year (58 starts) for Triple-A Sugar Land, but is a longtime shortstop and even got a few innings in center field earlier this summer.

While it’s still to be seen where Matthews gets reps, running him out in center wouldn’t be without precedent: at the start of this year, Cam Smith hadn’t logged a single pro inning in right field. He has since made all 79 of his appearances for the Astros at the spot and emerged as an American League Rookie of the Year contender. You know what they say about the best athlete on the field -- he can often play anywhere you need him.

And Matthews is certainly an athlete. The Texas native will endear himself to a section of the fan base with his accolades on the gridiron -- an all-state quarterback his senior year, accounting for 54 total touchdowns. That dual threat dynamism is on display all across the diamond, but particularly as a runner.

In pro ball, Matthews has swiped 75 bases on 94 attempts, an 80 percent success rate. He doesn’t grade out as a top-of-the-line burner, but he has accounted for the two instances in 2025 where a Sugar Land batter got from home to first in under four seconds. The Astros have had just one player -- Jose Altuve -- match those marks this year and he’s done it just four times.

Further under the Statcast hood is that Matthews can really hammer the baseball. The right-handed hitter has put 25 balls in play this season with an exit velocity at 105 mph or higher, all while using his “whippy” swing to fire the bat through the zone. His propensity to hit the ball hard has long been one of his premier calling cards, helping him go from a .266 hitter across his first two seasons at Nebraska to the first player in program history to produce a 20-homer/20-steal season.

Matthews is still striking out at a healthy rate (30.2 percent in 2025), even as his walk percentage has risen (15.4 percent). But he’s also been much more aggressive as he's seen more Triple-A pitching. His zone-swing percentage has jumped more than 13 points from his brief Triple-A foray last year, but that’s even more significant when factoring in that his swing percentage outside the zone has jumped by less than three points. In short, when he thinks he’s getting his pitch, he’s hacking.

Life in the Pacific Coast League can often lead to gaudy offensive numbers due to some of the Minors’ most hitter-friendly environs. But it’s been a bit of an ebb and flow campaign for Matthews, who battled through a 1-for-24 stretch in late April/early May, just to hit for the cycle on May 10. That he has had peaks (1.033 OPS in May) and valleys (30 K’s in 81 at-bats in April) can largely be attributed to the fact that he has faced a pitcher younger than him in just 4.9 percent of his plate appearances this year.

Those gains, along with the potential future production he could deliver, helped Matthews to land back on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, checking in at No. 98 overall. Even with some swing-and-miss concerns, guys who can rip off sub-4.00 second run times and consistently deliver 105+ mph exit velocities don’t come around too often.

In many ways, Houston is still finding out what it has in Matthews. Injuries have cropped up since last year with back spasms costing the MLB Develops alum playing time in 2024 and ‘25, while also landing on the concussion IL earlier this spring. He has “just” 825 plate appearances and 187 Minor League games under his belt, but when healthy, he’s been one of the organization's most productive prospects, posting a career .387 on-base percentage and 133 wRC+.

An inherent advantage that the Astros have from their place in the American League West standings (a seven-game lead entering play Friday) is that they don’t need prospects to carry a club in their first days as big leaguers. Matthews will be able to impact the game with his wheels, defensive flexibility and ability to run into his pitch, all without having to anchor a lineup.

He’ll also be able to take in the sights and sounds of Daikin Park from a new side of the chalk lines, donning “Astros” across his chest as a big leaguer -- a Houston guy done good.