This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
HOUSTON -- While Cam Smith has started in right field in each of the Astros’ first six games of the regular season, manager Joe Espada has been using left-field and center-field platoons to take advantage of pitching matchups and the skill sets of his young outfielders.
Joey Loperfido, a left-handed hitter, has started Houston’s three games against right-handed pitchers -- two in left field and one in center field. Brice Matthews, a right-handed hitter, has started the three games against left-handed starters -- two in left field and one in center field. Jake Meyers started the other four games in center field, and Yordan Alvarez started two games in left field.
The Astros have preached position flexibility for years, and having Matthews and Loperfido gives Espada lots of options. Loperfido can play all three outfield spots and can come off the bench and pinch-hit against a right-hander late in a game. Matthews can move to second base or shortstop late in a game like he did in Spring Training with ease. Both have speed, so they are pinch-run options as well.
“When you’re a young player, especially with a roster like ours, you have to wait for your turn,” Espada said. “These players, they know their role, but it doesn’t mean that’s their role forever. When Kyle Tucker got to the big leagues, he didn’t immediately play every day. He had Josh Reddick [ahead of him] at the time. Some of these guys, that’s how you establish yourself in the big leagues.”
Matthews’ transition to the outfield from the infield -- he was drafted as a shortstop -- has been a work in progress. He was exposed to the outfield last season in Triple-A as the Astros tried to find ways to get him reps on the Major League roster, considering their infield is stacked with veterans.
Matthews, the Astros’ No. 4 prospect, parlayed a strong performance in the Grapefruit League into a spot on the Opening Day roster. He edged out No. 11 prospect Zach Cole, an outfielder, for the final spot on the roster, but Cole broke a toe on his right foot when he was hit by a pitch Sunday in Triple-A. Espada said it will “take a little bit for him to get back.”
Cole is headed to the Astros’ facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., to rehab, so Matthews’ spot on the roster is secure for now.
“I talked to him [Monday] and told him I was praying for him,” Matthews said. “Hopefully, it’s a speedy recovery. He’s going to help us in the long run. He’s a really good player and it just sucks to have him injured. For me, it’s keep having good at-bats and finishing them off the right way and keep making more contact like I was in Spring Training. I just have to slow everything down and keep playing baseball.”
Matthews belted a fifth-inning homer in Monday’s 8-1 win over the Red Sox that traveled a Statcast-projected 434 feet at 111.1 mph off the bat. It was the longest of his young career and longest by an Astros player so far this year. The ball landed on the home run porch above left field -- an area typically reserved for power hitters, not a 5-foot-10, 190-pound middle infielder by trade.
“I know he’s strong, but that’s strong,” Espada said. “When he hit it, honestly, I thought, ‘This ball isn’t going to get caught,’ but when it kept going, I was like, ‘Oh man, that’s some big-time juice.’”
Matthews has been working on trying to create more consistent contact and said Tuesday he still has some adjustments to make at the plate. In addition to his homer Monday, he also made a strong throw from left field and nearly threw out a runner at second base, but Jose Altuve’s tag of Trevor Story was ruled late following a replay review.
Matthews, who grew up in the Houston area, has blended in well with the Astros’ veteran clubhouse and is making the most of his early playing time.
“It’s been a lot of fun being around a great group of guys, great leaders, great people,” he said. “It's the same old baseball. I’m trying to slow the nerves down and everything. We’ve been playing great team baseball and passing the bat. I had a great day [Monday] and want to just try to build on it and keep rolling.”