What Brice Matthews Takes Away From Limited First Year of Astros Action

The Houston Astros top prospect might have played in a handful of games in 2025, but he's ready for the next opportunity that presents itself.

Jul 22, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Brice Matthews celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros' top prospect, Brice Matthews, made his MLB debut last season after spending the past three years developing in the minors. While things didn't go perfectly for Matthews in his first go-around with the Astros, he showed several signs of things to come when he's more ready for the show.

In 13 games, Matthews held a .167 AVG, along with hitting four home runs and driving in nine RBIs, making him a positive WAR player, sitting at 0.3. He walked twice and struck out 20 times, but that's to be expected for a player just getting his first taste of what it's like in the majors.

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While joining MLB Network, Matthews shared insights from his limited experience in the league.

"It was a whirlwind, it was a lot of fun just being able to share the field with a bunch of great players, people I've watched since I was like nine," Matthews said. "Going from being a fan to being a player on that field, it was everything that I could've ever dreamed of."

Matthews also discovered that everything gets brought up a notch in the pros, which he learned really quickly when he faced off against the Texas Rangers in his second game, going against two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.

"Didn't go too well... Kind of knew what he was going to do, but didn't end up too well," Matthews said. "It was a lot of fun, hopefully next time I'll get him. (His fastball) looked like a BB coming out of his hand, but I think next time around I'll be a lot more prepared, for sure."

What's Next For Matthews?

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According to FanGraphs, Matthews is projected to start the 2026 campaign at the minor league level. However, should a roster move happen in the MLB before the beginning of the new season, Matthews seems like the infield candidate to call up to get some big league reps.

Isaac Paredes' name has been floating around the trade market as of late, which would allow Matthews to fill in for a bench role in his absence. Matthews can play both second and third base, which are currently being held down by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa.

Matthews hit .260 with 17 home runs, 64 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases through 112 games in 2025 with the Astros' Triple-A affiliate Sugar Land Space Cowboys, showcasing he might be reaching his ceiling at that level.

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With spring training right around the corner, Matthews will need to showcase some better bat-to-ball skills against major league pitching to improve upon his sub .200 AVG in 2025 if he wants to bypass beginning the season in Triple-A. But things seem to be trending in the direction of more MLB involvement in 2026.