Luis Eduardo Matos (born January 28, 2002) is a Venezuelan professional

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for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

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(MLB). He signed with the Giants as an international

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in 2018, and made his MLB debut in 2023.

Early life

Matos was born in

Valera Valera is a city in Trujillo State in Venezuela, situated between the rivers Momboy and Motatán. The mayor is José Karkom, who has had that post since 2013. The city is home to Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Colombian and Spanish commun ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and was raised in the small town of Bobures, alongside

Lake Maracaibo Lake Maracaibo () is located in northwestern Venezuela, between the states of Zulia, Trujillo, and Mérida. While Maracaibo is commonly referred to as a lake, its current hydrological characteristics may better classify it as estuary and/or ...

Zulia State Zulia State (, ; Wayuu language, Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the States of Venezuela, 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Vene ...

, Venezuela. His father (Jose), uncle (Malvin), and a number of his cousins (including former Giants outfielder

Luis Alexander Basabe Luis Alexander Basabe (born August 26, 1996) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants. Listed at 6' 0" , 160 lb. , he is a switch hitter and throws righ ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

infielder Osleivis Basabe, and former

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

prospect

Luis Alejandro Basabe Luis Alejandro Basabe (born August 26, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. Career Boston Red Sox In 2012, the Boston Red Sox made a pair of international signings that were unusual. The team signed ...

) have played baseball professionally.

Career

Matos signed with the

as an international

in July 2018 for a

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of $725,000. He spent his first professional season in 2019 at 17 years of age with the Dominican Summer League Giants and Rookie-level

Arizona League Giants The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Sc ...

, batting a combined .367/.438/.566 with 65 runs, seven home runs, 48 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases in 24 attempts in 251 at bats over 60 games. In the Dominican Summer League (DSL) he led the league with 24 doubles and batted .362(8th in the league)/.430/.570(9th) in 234 at bats with 60 runs (3rd), seven home runs (7th), 47 RBIs (3rd), and 12 hit by pitch (3rd). He was a DSL mid-season All Star, a DSL post-season All Star, and a ''

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'' DSL All Star. Matos did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He played the 2021 season with the Low-A

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants g ...

, as one of the youngest players in the league. Over 109 games, he led the

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with 84 runs, 86 RBIs, 35 doubles, 21 stolen bases, and five sacrifice flies and slashed .313(7th in the league)/.359/.495(9th) in 451 at bats with 15 home runs (2nd), 28 walks (5th), and seven hit by pitch (3rd). He was the California League Most Valuable Player, a California League post-season All Star, and an MiLB Organization All Star. In 2022, playing for the Rookie-level Arizona League Giants (for only seven at bats) and High–A

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

in the minor leagues, Matos batted an aggregate .215/.280/.356 in 376 at bats with 58 runs, 12 home runs, and 47 RBIs, while dealing with an injured

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

. With the Emeralds, he had the lowest strikeout rate among qualified hitters in the league. He then played for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco G ...

in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

, batted .233/.280/.361 in 86 at bats, and was named Arizona Fall League Defensive Player of the Year. He was ranked # 2 in the Giants 2022 MLB Prospect Rankings. On November 15, 2022, the Giants added Matos to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

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. Matos began the 2023 season with the Double–A

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

, and batted .304/.399/.444 in 115 at bats. He was then promoted to the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, where he was 5.7 years younger than his fellow

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

ballplayers, and batted .398(leading the league)/.435/.685(4th) in 108 at bats with six steals in seven attempts, before he was called up on June 14, 2023, for his major league debut. At 21 years of age, he was the youngest player in Triple–A. He was promoted after left fielder Mitch Haniger suffered fractured forearm in the previous night's game, and Matos was slotted in the lineup as the starting center fielder against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. On June 14, 2023, Matos batted second and went 1-for-3 with a run scored in his MLB debut. At 21 years of age, he became the second-youngest position player in MLB; only Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker was younger. In 76 games during his rookie campaign, he batted .250/.319/.342 with two home runs and 14 RBI. Matos was optioned to Triple–A Sacramento to begin the 2024 season. After being called up in mid-May, he drove in 17 runs in his first six starts, becoming the first Giant awarded National League Player of the Week since

Brandon Belt Brandon Kyle Belt (born April 20, 1988), nicknamed "Baby Giraffe", "Sparky", and "Captain", is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Gian ...

in 2018.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Luis 2002 births Living people Arizona Complex League Giants players Arizona League Giants players Dominican Summer League Giants players Eugene Emeralds players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen People from Valera Sportspeople from Trujillo (state) Baseball players from Zulia Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Scottsdale Scorpions players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States