Second Baseman Brice Matthews No Jose Altuve But Can Help Houston Astros

If Brice Matthews can achieve half of what Jose Altuve has accomplished in a Houston Astros uniform, the team and its’ fans will be happy. That he has the skills to likely extend the club’s excellence at second base already has them delighted.

Matthews, 23, is playing well at Triple-A Sugar Land. For the first time in his life, Altuve, 35, is playing left field. Though his skills have declined at second, the three-time batting champion has been used there more than manager Joe Espada envisioned when he asked the nine-time All-Star and 2017 American League MVP to make the switch. He has played 37 games in left, 21 at second.

The other options thus far at second base have been free-agent signing Brendan Rodgers, hitting .191, and utility man Mauricio Dubon at .245.

Matthews is batting .285 with 9 homers, 36 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 64 Triple-A games. In 50 games at second, he has 3 errors on 202 chances in 431 innings. He recently homered three times in four games.

That’s the kind of play the club envisioned when they paid him $2,478,200 to sign as a first-round pick (No. 28 overall) in 2023 out of Nebraska.

“It’s crazy, I never would have thought that,” Matthews said then about being drafted by a team that plays 20 minutes from where he lived. “I wanted to play college baseball in the South around here and it didn’t happen. But for me to have this opportunity now, it’s a lifetime opportunity and I’m going to take it and run with it.”

He ran – and threw – well at Atoscocita High School in Humble, TX as a quarterback accounting for 54 touchdowns. His baseball teammate at Atoscocita, outfielder Eric George, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers eight picks later after Matthews.

Ten players chosen ahead of Matthews and eight others picked later in 2023 have already played in the majors. He could soon join them in The Big Show as well as his family and friends right back in his hometown.

Matthews, born in Houston, grew up watching Altuve and the Astros make the post-season nine times in the past 10 seasons. Yet his favorite players were Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves and current Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts.

He began his college career at second, played a few games at third, and established himself at short. He shot up draft lists with a big year for the Cornhuskers in 2023, batting .359 with 20 homers, 20 steals and 67 RBI in 54 games.

Since Turning Pro

Matthews got started on the road back to Houston right after being drafted and found pro ball to be a challenge. In 35 games in the low minors, he hit only .217 with 4 homers, though he did steal 18 bases in 22 tries.

Last year, the 5-11, 190-pound right-hand hitter put all his skills together across four levels. That is, when he was in the lineup. He played in only 79 games, missing time with back spasms in August. He did hit .265 with 15 doubles, 15 homers, 52 runs and 44 RBI. He also had 32 steals.

With Jeremy Pena entrenched at short and after acquiring rookie third baseman Cam Smith in a big trade with the Chicago Cubs, the Astros asked Matthews to try some second base. He played 11 error-free games there for San Juan of the Puerto Rican Winter League.

“I feel comfortable there,” he told Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle in spring training in February. “It’s just baseball. I feel like I’ve been doing it my whole life, so I can play everywhere.

“Wherever they want me, I’m more than happy to go play wherever.”

Astros’ Second-Base Legacy

In 1988, the Astros had a speedy, sweet-swinging rookie catcher. He ended up in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a second baseman – after playing more than a few games in the outfield, too.

Craig Biggio played 1,989 games at second, 429 at catcher and 363 in the outfield. He also hit .281 with 291 homers and 414 steals over 20 seasons in a Houston uniform. His 65.4 wins against replacement rating is second to fellow Hall of Famer and teammate Jeff Bagwell. Altuve is third at 52.6.

Two other second baseman are among the Astros’ all-time greats. Hall of Famer Joe Morgan is 12th in WAR in Houston history at 30.7 on the way to the Hall. He was with Houston from 1963 until traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1972. His career WAR of 100.6 is 21st all-time, between sluggers Albert Pujols and Carl Yastrzemski.

Bill Doran is 13th on the Astros’ all-time WAR list at 30.4. from 1982 to mid-1990, when he also was dealt to Cincinnati. Both Morgan and Doran played second exclusively.

Brice Matthews’ Future

A baseball adage is that “speed never goes into a slump,” though hitters that do so negate their running advantage by not getting on base to utilize it.

“There’s a lot to like with that kid,” said a scout for an AL rival organization. “The only thing might be striking out. It gets tougher and you must adjust to the pitchers. I don’t know, nobody really does, about him or anybody.”

He believes what he has seen of Matthews’ approach at the plate will result in getting on. He cites fine bat speed and exit velocities and notes that Matthews does not chase too many pitches out of the strike zone. His one note of caution is in Matthews’ ability to recognize off-speed stuff. That, of course, has been the bane of hundreds of top prospects who never quite made it,

“We know he can handle fastballs,” Espada told the Chronicle. “We know he has pretty good feel for the strike zone. It’s more consistency. Be more of a complete hitter, knowing when things are not going well.

“That’s the difference sometimes between a major-league hitter and a minor-league hitter is they know what they’re doing wrong. They recognize it right away and they want to make adjustments.”

The Astros have a 6½- game lead in the AL West after 81 games, exactly halfway through the season. Their 48-33 record has been accomplished despite slugger Yordan Alvarez and several starting pitchers being injured – and with poor production at second base.

Brice Matthews could correct that problem at second and along with recent outfield callup Jacob Melton, add depth that can help the Houston Astros to yet another post-season run.