He’s been called an aircraft carrier and centerpiece, compared to a Transformer while thrust into a position he’s never played, putting him on the precipice of something unprecedented.
Now, call Cam Smith a major leaguer.
Smith made the Houston Astros’ Opening Day roster, three league sources told The Athletic on Tuesday, completing his six-week captivation of an entire coaching staff and clubhouse.
Advertisement
The 22-year-old phenom is expected to start in right field on Thursday when Houston hosts the New York Mets at Daikin Park.
Smith’s path to the major leagues has few parallels. He has played just 32 games in professional baseball, the third-fewest of any position player in MLB’s draft era before making a major-league team’s Opening Day roster. John Olerud played six games before the Toronto Blue Jays summoned him in 1990 and Pete Incaviglia never appeared in a minor-league game at all before debuting for the Texas Rangers in 1986.
Smith won his roster spot after a superb showing in spring training, during which he slashed .342/.419/.711 and exceeded every expectation the organization had for him. One month into camp, Espada abandoned his pre-spring plan to keep Smith at third base — his natural position — and began exposing him to right field, the only place where everyday at-bats are available on Houston’s roster.
Aside from a few college summer league games, Smith had never played outfield before this month. There is obvious concern about his defense, especially on a club that will have longtime second baseman Jose Altuve transitioning to left field, but Smith’s bat is too prolific for Houston to ignore.
GO DEEPER
‘Built like a Transformer’ and possibly ‘the next 60-homer guy,’ Cam Smith is turning heads
Smith’s on-field exploits are obvious, but Smith’s makeup and demeanor inside the Astros’ veteran-laden clubhouse may have strengthened his candidacy more than anything. Toward the end of spring training, multiple players inside Houston’s clubhouse privately lobbied for Smith to make the club, according to team sources.
Utilityman Mauricio Dubón told The Athletic that “when he has an idea of what they’re going to do to him in the big leagues, I think he’s going to be the next 60-homer guy.”
Added shortstop Jeremy Peña: “He’s a guy that you just have to keep testing him and see how far you can push him,” Peña said. “He’s going to fight back. He’s the one that’s going to push back. He’s just got to show you what he’s got.”
Advertisement
Smith played his last collegiate game eight months ago, hitting second for a Florida State team that fell to eventual national champions Tennessee in the College World Series.
The Chicago Cubs selected Smith 14th overall in last July’s draft before making him the headliner of their three-player haul for All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker.
On the day Houston acquired him, general manager Dana Brown called Smith “an impact bat with power” while acknowledging, “if his bat comes quickly, we’ll move him quickly.” Brown later called Smith “an aircraft carrier,” an old scouting axiom for players with talent that could carry a franchise.
Now, Smith may start to fulfill that prophecy.
(Photo: Reinhold Matay / Imagn Images)
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
