Zebby Matthews

The Angels haven’t been shy about saying that the 22-year-old infielder has a legitimate chance to crack the Opening Day roster, and adding some versatility to his game would definitely help his cause. Even if it’s not on Opening Day, showing that he can handle the hot corner defensively would give Moore another path to the big leagues — perhaps in the event that oft-injured Yoan Moncada requires a trip to the injured list during the season.

Mayo noted that the Angels are an organization that is generally aggressive in promoting their young prospects, and they were allegedly on the verge of calling Moore up last year before he got hurt. The eighth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Moore slashed .347/.400/.584 with 20 RBIs in 25 minor league games and finished the season with Double-A Rocket City. Considering the Angels are moving Luis Rengifo all over the field in the spring, there’s a chance Moore can lock down the starting second base role with Rengifo playing full-time across various positions.

Matthews made it through the first inning of his pro debut unscathed but ceded a solo homer to Royals catcher MJ Melendez with one out in the second inning. The rookie right-hander would allow one more earned run in this one but was solid overall. Matthews didn’t walk a batter, showed good command of the strike zone, and pitched out of some jams with runners in scoring position to end three of the five innings he pitched. Assuming he draws another start, Matthews would be scheduled to toe the rubber on Sunday against the Rangers.

Matthews will make his major league debut on Tuesday against the division-rival Royals after rocketing up prospect rankings this season by compiling a sublime 2.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 114/7 K/BB ratio across 97 innings (18 appearances, 17 starts) across three minor league levels. The unheralded 24-year-old right-hander’s control-oriented approach might get exploited by big league hitters, which was starting to happen a bit by Triple-A batters who connected for four round-trippers in just 19 innings over his four starts at that level. However, as evidenced by an astronomical 30.5 percent this year in the minors, he’s projects to miss enough bats to make an immediate impact for fantasy managers, especially in deeper mixed leagues. We’re not going to forecast Matthews experiencing immediate success at the highest level, as he’s likely going to face a bit of an adjustment period, but the talent and strike zone-heavy approach portend eventaul success. It’s a decent matchup out of the gate and Matthews is intriguing enough that he should be rostered in all fantasy formats until further notice.