Astros First-Round Pick Matthews Makes Pro Debut

Houston Astros first-round pick Brice Matthews made his professional baseball debut on Saturday night with the Class-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers.

Matthews was one of three draft picks assigned to the Woodpeckers, along with eighth-round pick Ryan Johnson and ninth-round pick Jeron Williams.

Matthews batted leadoff for the Woodpeckers and legged out a single in his first professional at-bat.

He had to earn that first one!

In his first at bat, @astros first round draft pick Brice Matthews legs out his first professional hit! pic.twitter.com/QyPAiK1oFN
— Fayetteville Woodpeckers (@WoodpeckersNC) July 29, 2023

He ended up going 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.

Johnson batted fifth and went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run, as he hit his first pro home run in the sixth inning. Williams batted sixth and went 2-for-5.

Matthews was selected with the 28th overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft after a stellar junior season for Nebraska, where he slashed .362/.481/.723 with 11 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 67 RBI and 61 runs scored.

With his selection in the first round, Matthews became the highest Nebraska player drafted since Alex Gordon in 2005. The 21-year-old middle infielder is a native of Humble, Texas and grew up an Astros fan.

Johnson, who went to Pepperdine, started all 110 games of his career with the Waves and led the program in RBI (37), runs scored (32), home runs (10) and doubles (12) over his final season.

Williams spent two seasons at Toledo and was named the MAC Player of the Year batting .403 with 14 home runs while leading Division 1 with 49 stolen bases.

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