As Luis Matos flew from Houston to St. Louis on Tuesday night, Giants manager Gabe Kapler reached out with both a text message and an Instagram DM. Kapler wasn't sure which way would be more efficient with his 21-year-old center fielder, and that has quickly become the norm in the Giants clubhouse.
Matos' arrival added more youth to a lineup that was the oldest in the National League each of the last six seasons, and this case is particularly extreme. Playing center and batting second against the Cardinals, Matos -- 137 days past his 21st birthday -- is the youngest Giant to make his debut since Madison Bumgarner (20) in 2009. He'll be the fourth-youngest player in the big leagues and second-youngest position player, behind only Cardinals rookie Jordan Walker.
Walker was a consensus top 10 prospect who made the leap in spring training. After a rough and injury-marred 2022, Matos had a meteoric rise the last two months, destroying Double-A and Triple-A pitching to become the top option when Mitch Haniger fractured his right forearm on Tuesday night.
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"Player development can happen really quickly," Kapler told reporters at Busch Stadium. "Especially with players that have big pedigree."
Matos has been highly-touted since signing out of Venezuela for $725,000. He was the MVP of his Low-A league in 2021, but a quad injury sidelined him for a long stretch in High-A last season and he never felt right when he returned. Matos had a .619 OPS last year with nearly three times as many strikeouts as walks, falling off top 100 lists. But he showed up this spring looking like his old self, and he quickly earned a promotion to Triple-A after batting .304 with more walks than strikeouts for Double-A Richmond. He was even better in Triple-A, forcing the issue.
Matos batted .398 with a 1.120 OPS in 24 games for the River Cats, hitting six homers in his last six games and walking seven times to eight strikeouts. The year-over-year plate discipline improvement has been remarkable, and it made it clear to the Giants that Matos was ready despite having just two months of success above Low-A.
"I'm really excited for him," Kapler said. "He came into spring training and we asked him to be a little bit more selective and look for pitches to drive and he applies that right away."
San Francisco Giants
Matos' arrival was a huge moment for the organization, but also a bittersweet one. Kapler said it's possible that Haniger will need surgery, although that might not end his season.
In the meantime, Matos has a runway to grab an everyday job in the outfield. Austin Slater is the only other right-handed hitting member of the group, and starting Matos in center field on his first day was a signal that the Giants believe he can stick there at the big league level. He's long been viewed by scouts as an above-average defender who gets tremendous jumps.
If he does stick, Matos will continue what has been a shockingly fast alteration of the lineup. He's by far the youngest Giant, but was joined Wednesday by 24-year-olds Patrick Bailey and Casey Schmitt. David Villar, who also returned, is 26.
The Giants hoped for help from their system this year but didn't quite expect to get this young, this fast. Their kids have proven to be up for the challenge, and Matos believes he'll be next.
"I'm ready," he told reporters in St. Louis. "I'm here because the team feels that I'm ready."