Road to The Show™: Astros’ Brice Matthews

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at third-ranked Astros prospect Brice Matthews. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

The Astros have been aggressive when it comes to challenging Minor Leaguers, and local product Brice Matthews was no exception.

The Houston native played at three different levels -- four including a rehab stint -- and had two stints on the injured list due to back issues in first full professional season.

The club’s third-ranked prospect tore up the Carolina League and quickly advanced from High-A Asheville to Double-A Corpus Christi, where he spent most of the season. In September, he was elevated again to Triple-A Sugar Land, where he helped the 93-win Space Cowboys capture their first Pacific Coast League title and Triple-A National Championship.

The 22-year-old recorded his first Triple-A homer during a 13-6 victory against Omaha in the national title game.

Over 79 regular-season games, Matthews batted .265 with an .865 OPS, 15 homers, 52 runs, 44 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. He recorded three hits and drove in four runs in three postseason games.

The 5-foot-10, 190 pound infielder mostly stayed at shortstop, but he also got his first professional experience at third base, playing in about half as many games. Additionally, he made two appearances at second base. At the University of Nebraska, he played all three infield positions.

Matthews is a tremendous athlete with great power to the pull side and an ability to hit the ball very hard. Scouts believe he may eventually be able to contribute 20-25 homers per season. He’s displayed terrific speed on the bases and has the range to stick at shortstop, but scouts think his arm strength may push him elsewhere.

Outfielder Jacob Melton is the only Houston prospect on MLB Pipeline’s recently updated Top 100 overall prospects list. The Astros system ranked last in the in-season farm system rankings after being thinned out by promotions and trades that brought a great deal of success at the Major League level.

The Houston-born Matthews grew up surrounded by that success.

Matthews played at the Astros Urban Youth Academy from the time he was 9 years old until he finished high school, competing in the Commissioners Cup in 2018 and 2019. He also participated in the Breakthrough Series in 2019 and the Astros’ RBI program in 2017.

"It's a surreal feeling," Matthews told MLB.com when asked about being selected by his hometown team in last year’s Draft. "Kind of hard to describe in words, kind of something you always dream of as a kid. For it to actually happen, is pretty crazy."

Matthews was an All-State quarterback at Atascocita High School in suburban Houston and accounted for 54 touchdowns during his senior year. But his future was on the diamond.

He was selected as the 6A Utility Player of the Year and Greater Houston Area Infielder of the Year as a junior. He also earned a spot on the USA Baseball NTIS South Texas Team and the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State Team before attending Nebraska.

Matthews was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2021 but didn’t do much to separate himself from the field in his first two NCAA seasons, when he hit .266 with 12 homers over 84 total games.

After his sophomore season, Matthews started coming into his own during his second consecutive summer with the St. Cloud Rox in the wood-bat Northwoods League. Over 49 games, Matthews matched his walk total from his first two college seasons (48) while driving six homers and 16 doubles.

His breakout continued into his junior year at Nebraska, where he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was the first player in program history to have a 20/20 season, batting .359/.481/.723 with 67 RBIs and 61 runs.

Matthews participated in the 2023 MLB scouting combine in Phoenix, where he first met Houston general manager Dana Brown.

The Astros had some familiarity with Matthews from his Northwoods League performance and their interest intensified when he continued to progress as a junior. Although projected to be a second- or third-rounder, ranked No. 57 in his class, Houston took him off the board with the No. 28 overall pick, the last of the first round.

• Subscribe to the MLB Pipeline Newsletter

Matthews signed for a below-slow bonus of $2,478,200 and reported to the Rookie-level Florida Complex League to begin his pro career.

He played in just two FCL games before finishing the season with Single-A Fayetteville, playing exclusively at shortstop. Overall, he batted .208 with a .717 OPS, four homers, 11 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 35 games. He also had a 27 percent strikeout rate, and in the offseason, the organization pushed him to clean up some swing mechanics in an attempt to make more consistent contact.

This spring, Matthews walked twice, scored a run and stole a base but went hitless in two at-bats over three Grapefruit League appearances. He started at shortstop and went 0-for-2 in the Astros’ Spring Breakout game before opening the season with High-A Asheville.

Matthews was excellent for the Tourists, even as he missed most of May with what the club called “lower back discomfort.” He produced a .321/.423/.580 slash line with six homers and 17 RBIs and was promoted to Corpus Christi in June after just 21 games.

The Texas League competition began to catch up to him, but he held his own over 42 games with the Hooks. He batted .252 with an .873 OPS, nine homers and 21 RBIs.

Matthews had another stint on the IL with back spasms in August but batted .300 with six extra-base hits and eight RBIs in 12 games following his return ahead of his promotion to Sugar Land.

He collected just six hits in 42 at-bats with five RBIs and three stolen bases over the final 12 games of the regular season.

Although he’s disciplined enough to make good swing decisions, there are some concerns about Matthews’ tendency to miss pitches in the zone and exhibit too much pull. His strikeout rate climbed from a manageable 26.8 percent at High-A to a worrisome 33.7 percent and 39.6 percent at Double-A and Triple-A respectively.

He’ll likely return to Sugar Land at the start of 2025 and could make his big league debut as soon as next season.