SF Giants promote top outfielder prospect to Triple-A Sacramento
One of the best prospects in the SF Giants farm system, outfielder Luis Matos (Giants #4 prospect), has been promoted to Triple-A Sacramento, a source informed Giants Baseball Insider. Matos was off to an excellent start to the season at Double-A Richmond, hitting .304/.399/.444 with seven doubles, three home runs, and nine stolen bases in 31 games. His numbers are even more impressive in the context of the incredibly pitcher-friendly Eastern League. Matos has played all three outfield positions this season but does project as a viable big-league center fielder.
SF Giants prospect Luis Matos running the bases during the Arizona Fall League. (2022)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Matos was one of the Giants' top signings in the organization's 2018-19 international free-agent class, alongside Marco Luciano (Giants #2 prospect) and Jairo Pomares (Giants #24 prospect). After an excellent debut in the Dominican Summer League, he was one of the biggest breakout prospects in the minor leagues during the 2021 season. As a teenager, he hit 313/.359/.495 with 35 doubles, 15 home runs, and 28 stolen bases at Single-A. He was simultaneously one of the best and youngest players in the California League and established himself as a consensus top-100 prospect in the minors by the end of the season.
At High-A Eugene, however, Matos hit the first speed bump in his pro career. Matos' power evaporated in 2022 as pitchers seemed to take advantage of his aggressive approach. While he posted the lowest strikeout rate among qualified players in the league, he hit just .211/.275/.344.
With that said, there was a rationale to explain some of Matos' struggles. The Giants emphasized improved pitch selection with Matos heading into 2022, but it seemed to cause him to overthink at the plate. Simultaneously, he also dealt with a quad injury early in the season that appeared to zap his athleticism. He improved toward the end of the season, posting a .283/.312/.462 triple-slash in the final 33 games with nine doubles, a triple, five homers, and seven stolen bases.
During the offseason, the Giants sent Matos to the Arizona Fall League, where he struggled after a hot start at the plate but did win the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Still, there were growing concerns that he no longer had the offensive potential to be an impact player at the major league level.
This year, though, Matos has seemed to put it all back together. The Giants surprised many by moving him up to Double-A to start the season. Despite the aggressive assignment, his line drive/gap-to-gap power returned alongside a noticeably improved approach. Matos always put the ball in play at an elite clip but rarely worked walks. That has not been the case this season.
Matos has more walks (17) than strikeouts (12) this year at Double-A, pairing the second-best strikeout rate in the Eastern League (9.7%) with an above-average walk rate (12.8%). Early in the season, Matos was still struggling to record extra-base hits, but that changed recently. In his last 40 plate appearances, Matos is hitting .361/.425/.611 with three doubles and two home runs.
It's worth putting Matos' numbers in the context of the Eastern League, which is arguably the most pitcher-friendly league in the minors. According to weighted runs created plus (wRC+), , Matos has an elite 139 wRC+, a stat that attempts to contextualize stats in the context of their league and park environments. Per wRC+, Matos has been 39% more productive per plate appearance than an average hitter in the league.
Still just 21, Matos will now head to the highest level of the minors where he will find much more challenging pitching but also play in much more hitter-friendly ballparks. It seems reasonable to expect his strikeout and walk rates to regress from their standout Double-A numbers, but hopefully, he generates more power to make up for it. Already on the 40-man roster, it seems like just a matter of time before Luis Matos makes his big-league debut with the SF Giants.
