Back home in the Chicago area during the Triple-A midseason break, Lucas Spence went fishing with his father Wednesday and hauled in a 30½-inch, 11-pound walleye – a personal best, he said.
On the drive home, his day got even better. Spence’s phone rang. On the line was Sugar Land manager Mickey Storey, informing the Houston Astros outfield prospect he was being promoted.
Advertisement
“I was like, ‘Dad, I’m going to the big leagues,'” Spence said.
The Astros called up Spence, the 23-year-old outfielder, after a brief stretch at Triple-A ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Spence was in the starting lineup to make his major-league debut in center field in Houston‘s first game out of the All-Star break.
Houston placed outfielder Brice Matthews on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain, opening an active roster spot for Spence. The Astros had open 40-man roster spots after trading Lance McCullers Jr. and Colton Gordon to the Brewers this week. They also reinstated reliever Kai-Wei Teng from the injured list, filling the roster spot opened by optioning Alimber Santa to Triple-A after Sunday’s game at Texas.
Spence, a left-handed hitter, made a speedy rise up the Astros’ minor-league system after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2024. Spence played two seasons at Black Hawk College, a community college in Moline, Ill., and one season at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, and attended just one pre-draft workout in 2024 – run by the Astros, who signed him after a summer in the Northwoods League.
Advertisement
Spence ended his first full professional season in 2025 at Double-A Corpus Christi. He began this season at that level and posted a .269/.371/.433 slash line across 44 games before a promotion to Triple-A. The Astros called him up after 17 games at Triple-A, where he had a .699 OPS, echoing a trend of aggressive promotions under general manager Dana Brown.
“Swing decisions have been good, he’s hitting the ball hard, uses the whole field,” said Astros manager Joe Espada. “He provides a little spark. He did it in Double-A, we saw it in spring training. There’s more power in there, we haven’t tapped into it yet. But he’s done enough to be able to earn this promotion to the major leagues.”
Brown has made no secret of his desire to add a left-handed hitting outfielder before the trade deadline, terming it Houston’s “main need.” Summoning Spence now gives the Astros a chance to gauge what he might be able to offer with over two weeks left until the deadline. Houston extracted the third-worst OPS and lowest on-base percentage in the majors from its outfielders before the All-Star break.
The Astros got a brief look at Spence this spring in major-league camp, where he was a non-roster invite. He is rated as the No. 12 prospect in the Astros’ system by Baseball America and No. 10 by MLB Pipeline in those outlets’ most recent rankings. At Double-A, Spence said he “got on the fastball a little bit more” and made an effort to hit to all fields ahead of receiving his promotion to Sugar Land.
Advertisement
“I feel prepared, I feel ready to go,” Spence said Friday afternoon. “Stick to what I do, try to get on base as much as possible for these guys and play hard.”
Espada said Spence will be an option at all three outfield spots. Spence has played primarily center field in the majors. Matthews had started five of the Astros’ last six games before the All-Star break in center. Spence’s addition gives them several left-handed hitting outfield options, along with LaMonte Wade Jr., who plays the corners, and Taylor Trammell, an option at all three spots.
Spence flew to Houston on Thursday, allowing him a full day to prepare for his debut. He said Friday that he wasn’t initially sure what to think when he saw Storey calling him Wednesday.
“I didn’t know if he was trying to figure out where I was, ’cause I didn’t know if he knew I went home for All-Star break, if that was going to be an issue or something,” Spence said. “Then I thought maybe I got traded with all the moves that were going on. So there was a bunch of things running through my head when his name popped up.
Advertisement
“But got good news at the end of the day.”
Matthews injured his knee in Sunday’s series finale against the Rangers when he leapt for a drive at the center-field wall at Globe Life Field. He said Friday he is doing rehab work but unsure about a timeline for recovery.
“It was something I never felt before,” Matthews said. “I thought (initially) it was going to be a lot longer than they think it is, so that’s a good thing. And I feel really well right now. So I’m very optimistic.”
Espada also did not provide a timeline for Matthews’ recovery but echoed that “it’s not as severe as it looked that day. I thought it looked ugly, he couldn’t put much weight on it. But hopefully it’s a speedy recovery.”
Advertisement
Teng was optioned to Triple-A after a start in Detroit on June 27. But the Astros nullified that move and put Teng on the 15-day injured list several days later due to a right knee strain. Teng, who was pitching in the rotation, moved back to a relief role during his rehab process, which included two outings in Florida Complex League games. He was active in the Astros’ bullpen for Friday’s game against the Orioles.
Starter Ronel Blanco and reliever Bennett Sousa, who are both nearing activation from the injured list, were both at Daikin Park for pregame work Friday. Espada said both pitchers may “be rejoining the team anytime soon, so we’re still deciding what we’re going to do next with those guys.” Blanco is returning from Tommy John surgery. Sousa was placed on the injured list on May 9 due to elbow inflammation.
Advertisement
There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.
This article originally published at It’s no fish story, Lucas Spence gets call from Houston Astros after landing an 11-pound walleye .
