Brice Matthews

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Brice Andre Matthews

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Biographical Information[edit]

Infielder Brice Matthews was the 28th and last player selected in the first round proper of the 2023 amateur draft, taken by his hometown team, the Houston Astros from the University of Nebraska after attending high school in Houston's northern suburbs, where he was also a star quarterback. As a youngster, he had attended Houston's Urban Youth Academy. With the Cornhuskers, he was coming off a season in which he had hit .359 with 20 homers in 54 games and was the first player in school history to both hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in a season.

He began his professional career in 2023 with FCL Astros but was promoted to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers after just 2 games, hitting .217 in 33 games. In 2024, he split his 79 games between 4 levels, as an injury rehabilitation brought him back to the Florida Complex League, and he also appeared in High-A, AA and AAA. His slash line was .265/.384/.481 with 15 homers and 44 RBIs. To make up for the time lost to his injury, he also played in the Puerto Rican League the following winter, with the Senadores de San Juan.

There was more stability in 2025 as he spent the first half of the season with the AAA Sugar Land Space Cowboys, hitting .283 in 73 games with 10 homers and 39 RBIs. He was called up to Houston on July 11th, after he had been named the Astros minor league player of the month for June and was selected to play in the 2025 Futures Game. He made his debut that same day, starting at second base against the Texas Rangers. He went 0 for 4 and struck out three times in a 7-3 loss. He had played mainly shortstop in college, added some third base in his first two minor league seasons as the Astros anticipated the departure of Alex Bregman, which did come about after the 2024 season, and then second base in 2025 after José Altuve had been moved to the outfield. His call-up came after injuries to two regulars for Houston, SS Jeremy Pena and OF Jake Meyers. He hit his first two career homers in the same game, against Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 6-3 win on July 21st.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Brian McTaggart: "Astros take former star QB, Houston-area native Matthews in 1st round", mlb.com, July 10, 2023. [1]
  • Brian McTaggart: "Astros' top prospect Matthews makes MLB debut for hometown club", mlb.com, July 12, 2025. [2]
  • Brian McTaggart: "Astros' top prospect hits first career homer -- then goes yard again", mlb.com, July 22, 2025. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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