Astros’ top two prospects go back-to-back for Triple-A Sugar Land

It’s been a wild past few weeks for Brice Matthews and Jacob Melton, the Astros top two prospects, who were optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land last week following a flurry of deadline moves by General Manager Dana Brown. Their quest for playing time—and future with the organization—may now be in jeopardy. 

But Matthews and Melton certainly helped their case for more opportunities at the Major League level on Wednesday, when they hit back-to-back home runs for the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys. 

Melton put the Space Cowboys on the board in the 3rd inning with a shot to right field before Matthews followed with a 453-foot homer to center. Melton currently has a .898 OPS through 22 games at Triple-A this season, while Matthews has recorded an extra-base hit and RBI in each of his three games for the Space Cowboys since being optioned. 

However, Chandler Rome of The Athletic still believes the Astros’ young duo has a murky future after the additions of Carlos Correa, Jesus Sanchez and Ramon Urias at the trade deadline.

“Performance will always dictate roster construction, but on paper, both Melton and Matthews appear to be blocked from everyday big-league roles for at least the next two seasons,” Rome wrote.

That’s because Sanchez is a left-handed-hitting outfielder like Melton, and he’s already batting second in Houston's lineup. Meanwhile, the Astros’ busy infield leaves little room for Matthews, who has been playing second base at the Triple-A level. Correa takes over at third base, while shortstop Jeremy Pena is expected back this weekend.  

But if Matthews and Melton keep playing well, who knows what will happen? Matthews, a 2023 first-round pick, is batting .284/.400/.486 in 76 Triple-A games this season, while Melton is hitting .266/.366/.532 in 22 games with Sugar Land.