Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Matt Thaiss was born May 6, 1995, in Jackson, New Jersey. He is an infielder in the MLB.

Thaiss signed with the Angels and was assigned to the Orem Owlz. After batting .338 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 15 games for Orem, he was promoted to the Burlington Bees, where he hit .276 with four home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .778 OPS in 52 games to end the season. He was ranked as the Angels' top prospect at the end of the 2016 season. Thaiss spent 2017 with both the Inland Empire 66ers and the Mobile BayBears, posting a combined .274 batting average with nine home runs and 73 RBIs in 133 games, and 2018 with Mobile and the Salt Lake Bees, slashing .280/.335/.467 with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs in 125 games between both teams. He returned to Salt Lake to begin 2019.

On July 3, 2019, the Angels selected Thaiss' contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that night, hitting a double in his first at-bat off of Ariel Jurado of the Texas Rangers. As he was a catcher before being drafted, he has converted into a first baseman and a third baseman after being drafted. On the season, Thaiss hit .211 with 8 home runs in 53 games. In 2020, Thaiss went 3-for-21 with 1 home run for a .143/.280/.286 batting line across 8 games.

In 2021, the Angels had Thaiss return to playing catcher.