Brice Matthews has had it rough in 2026. As I stated in his original Prospect Spotlight, Matthews needed to cut down on the strikeouts. He hasn’t done that and has struggled at the plate.

Matthews has played in 82 games for the Houston Astros and collected 208 at-bats. In those 208 at-bats, Matthews comes in just south of the Mendoza line at .197 with 7 home runs and 22 RBIs. He has struck out 71 times to just 15 walks. That’s a strikeout rate of 31.4%. He has almost twice as many strikeouts as hits and has only stolen four bags, despite having plus speed.

After being drafted and developed as a shortstop, Matthews has spent the majority of his time in the Majors patrolling the outfield. He is currently on the injured list after colliding with the outfield wall, but it’s clear, to me at least that Matthews needs more time in the minors. With an OBP of just .250, Brice Matthews appears out of his depth in Houston. The Astros currently find themselves (on July 20th) just 4.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot.

Too close to consider a full rebuild (especially with Houston’s track record of turning it on late), and maybe too far out to be terribly aggressive buyers. That puts the Astros in a weird spot. But one this is for sure: if Houston hopes to make a playoff push, they need more production out of the outfield than Brice Matthews is giving them.

I doubt the team will send him back to Triple-A Sugar Land, but it could be good for him. Let him get his legs back under him, work on his swing, get his confidence back. Maybe then he can take real strides to become the true 5-tool player that Houston hopes can lead them into the future.