Astros Top Prospect 'Pushing for Promotion' With Incredible Run in Triple-A

The Houston Astros have been much better as of late, but still have a glaring hole in their roster. Could their top prospect be the one to answer that call soon?

MLB.com's Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo recently came together to find one prospect for each team that is "pushing for a promotion." For the Astros, it was their top prospect Brice Matthews.

Matthews was No. 28 overall selection back in 2023 and has a great start to his professional career. He made it to Triple-A by the end of his first full campaign and has been there for all of 2025.

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As expected for a 23-year-old, there were some growing pains. He's looked incredible over the past month or so, though, so he may force his way into the Majors sometime soon.

In a 23-game span, dating from May 10 to June 18, the infielder slashed .363/.443/.492 with six home runs and 23 RBI. He has also swiped five bases in that time.

The ceiling for Matthews looked to be a rare archetype of the 30/30-club middle infielder. That is the type of player that he has looked like during this stretch.

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He hit 20 home runs and stole 20 bases in 54 games during his last year in college with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. His bat always had high potential, but few expected it to translate so quickly.

Matthews' path to the big leagues has also become very clear. It's through second base. He played there early on in college, but spent the last few years at shortstop.

After playing second base for just 12 innings last year, he has played all but 45 innnings there through the first 57 games.

With Jose Altuve moving to left field, a hole opened up at second. Altuve has been a part of a platoon there, but it has been a problem for much of this year.

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That position in the batting order has accounted for just a .231/.290/.338 slash line with six home runs in 74 games. That just won't cut it come the trade deadline.

If Houston could find an in-house solution, that would be the best case scenario.

Shay Whitcomb just got called back up to MLB and he is a potential replacement at second base.

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Whitcomb has been fantastic at Triple-A this year, but has yet to get a hit through his first eight at-bats in the Majors.

If he gets sent down again, Matthews becomes the next most sensible option.

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