The Chicago Cubs knew they selected a high-upside player when they took Cam Smith No. 14 overall in last year’s MLB draft, but they likely had no idea he would turn out to be this good this quickly.
Smith immediately turned heads when he played his first professional baseball games last season, blasting six home runs in 15 contests at the Single-A level. That forced the Cubs to move him up to their High Single-A affiliate to see what he could do against that degree of pitching.
It was virtually the same result.
While the home run numbers weren’t as gaudy with just one deep shot, he still drove in nine runs during his 12 games to go with a slash line of .333/.421/.500, forcing Chicago’s hand to promote him again.
Then, in just five games at Double-A, he was still able to drive in three runs.
Smith finished his first taste of professional baseball with a slash line of .313/.396/.609, seven homers, five doubles, four triples and 24 RBI across his 32 games and 115 at-bats, an incredible showing from the youngster.
Normally those players don’t get moved, but when the Cubs saw the opportunity to land Kyle Tucker in a winter blockbuster, they included Smith as a headlining piece alongside Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski.
The 22-year-old wasn’t expected to be part of Chicago’s big league roster for some time, and with Matt Shaw slated to become the third baseman of the future, Jed Hoyer and the front office felt the 2024 first-round pick was expendable.
So, they shipped him out of town.
Now, there’s a real chance that decision could come back to haunt them.
Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Smith is going to make the Houston Astros‘ Opening Day roster.
That comes after he tore it up in the spring, slashing .342/.419/.711 with four homers and 11 RBI in 15 games, which basically forced the Astros to do what the Cubs did during the early part of Smith’s career; promote him aggressively.
This is going to be a fascinating situation to watch play out.
Chicago’s move to acquire Tucker was lauded by many around the baseball world when it happened, and there’s no doubt the superstar outfielder is going to provide value for the team in 2025.
But with Smith now starting Game 1 in Houston, playing in right field no less, the comparisons between the two situations is going to be a storyline throughout the year.
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