Astros call up top prospect Brice Matthews, who could see middle-infield action in series vs. Rangers
The former first-round pick has an .876 OPS in Triple-A

The Houston Astros are calling up their top remaining prospect, middle infielder Brice Matthews, in time for Friday's game against the Rangers in Daikin Park, the ballclub announced Friday afternoon.
Matthews, 23, was the Astros' first-round pick (28th overall selection) in the 2023 MLB draft out of the University of Nebraska. He was mostly a third baseman and shortstop before this season, but 58 of his 73 games in Triple-A this season have come at second base, presumably due to Isaac Paredes playing third and Jeremy Peña having shortstop on lockdown at the big-league level. Remember, Jose Altuve shifted to left field to start the season.

The Astros are dealing with middle-infield issues at the moment, though. Peña and second baseman Brendan Rodgers are both currently on the injured list. Mauricio Dubon and Zack Short have been getting starts up the middle and Altuve has also played a good amount of second base. It'll be interesting to see how the Astros work things here in the short term with the promotion of Matthews.
In Triple-A so far this season, Matthews is hitting .283/.400/.476 with 12 doubles, five triples, 10 homers, 39 RBI, 51 runs and 25 stolen bases.
Back in the spring, CBS Sports prospect expert R.J. Anderson ranked Matthews as the Astros' No. 3 prospect behind Cam Smith and Jacob Melton, both of whom have already been with the Astros at this point. Here's what Anderson had to say about Matthews at the time:
Matthews had an interesting season, jetting all the way to Triple-A just about a year after being selected 28th overall. He notched 15 home runs and 32 stolen bases across 79 games, all the while striking out in more than 31% of his trips to the plate. The industry is more forgiving of strikeouts now than at any other point in history, but Matthews will test that tolerance; only one qualified MLB batter, Zack Gelof, struck out more frequently. At the same time, Matthews would appear to have one major point working in his favor: his employer. His ability to pull fly balls to left field should come in handy in Houston, where he could become fond of the Crawford Boxes. Of course, Matthews will still have to make enough contact for that possibility to materialize. For now, he's someone to keep tabs on.
The Astros head into Friday with a seven-game lead in the AL West, though they've lost three straight games.