I realize it's different scenarios with Cam Smith's draft position/pedigree, but I've gotten really excited about other guys before (JR Towles and Tyler White come to mind) only to have my hopes dashed. Trying not to get my hopes up... but man, he sure does look like the real deal so far.
I think he’s a guy the Astros really liked in the draft, and would have taken him in a heartbeat. He has star and possibly superstar written all over him. The only reason he wasn’t rated much higher as a prospect is because he had just gotten drafted out of college. The Astros got the one guy they coveted, and the Cubs were none the wiser to whom they actually had in their system. The Chicago media and fans were over the moon with the trade. But the Astros get a guy in Cam, that seems to have that “IT” factor.
There is no doubt he was high on Browns draft board. He would have never made the aircraft carrier comment if he didn't. It was a great trade for us. We saved money and got under the tax, we got a viable replacement for Bregman for a few years, and we got a potential all-star level prospect for one season of Tucker and the compensation pick.
Also would not shock me in the slightest if we do our usual thing with pitchers and unlock Wesneski, turning him into a quality SP.
The Astros have a great pitcher development system in place. They are able to tinker to get the best out of both prospects and veterans alike. If the Astros think a pitcher has something in the engine, they will put the right fuel additive to make the fella thrive.
The ball must look like melons to him right now. He gets the bat around so fast and smoothly. I just want to see if he can recognize and lay off major league breaking balls especially the slider low and away. That pitch is kryptonite to Pena, Chas and Meyers. Those comments means he's going to be on the roster. They definitely see something special in him in batting practice also.
Wow… if Cam Smith makes the team at this stage of the game it’s pretty amazing. That means he’d only have about a total of 2 or 3 months of service time in the minors. But it’s generally expected that college players come up ready to contribute sooner rather than later. Still I would say it’s a bit shocking if he makes the the opening roster out of Spring Training.
Why isn’t he playing RF if he “has a chance to win the RF job” to start the season? Doesn’t make sense.
It would be crazy but Cam's approach at the plate is pretty mature. He on a hot streak but it's not like he's swinging at bad pitches. He's been very selective which part of the reason why he's doing well. If he hits like this when the starters start ramping up, he'll be on the opening day roster. Nothing to learn in the minor leagues.
Dana is only full of it when it comes to extensions and contracts. That was from a lack of contract experience. When has he been full of it when it comes to player evaluation or development.
You didn’t answer my question. He’s never played RF in a collegiate or minor league game. If he was really going to make the team as a RF, why was he playing 3B again yesterday? Why hasn’t he played a single game out there yet? So yeah, sounds like he is full of it right now. And it wasn’t just extensions and contracts…he regularly came on 790 talking about Tucker’s injury and was full of it.
It would be crazier for him to not make the team at this point if he keeps up even close to what he's been doing.
I don’t want the Astros to make prospect promotion decisions based on 2 dozen plate appearances in spring training, most of which have come against minor league pitchers. For me, the only value ST play has are the types of things you could measure in a single tryout (exit velo, foot speed, throw velo, eyeball test on plate discipline/contact quality/defense). But Houston is working with more data than just these games. They have all the data that went into targeting him in the Tucker trade (all the data they got scouting him for the draft, all the data they have from his minor league games last season), plus everything they’ve seen outside of actual games since they acquired him. So if the front office and coaches decide they want him on the opening day roster, then I’m on board and will expect big things, because I certainly don’t think they’d put him out there above guys like Gamel, McCormick, Dubon, or Rodgers if they didn’t think he’d play significantly better than them.
Cam has had 18 plate appearances in ST. 5 walks, 8 hits, 2 HR and only 2 strikeouts. To play devils advocate, if he would have gone 1-18 with multiple strikeouts and didn’t look anywhere close I think the vibes would be totally different. And to me it’s just not the numbers, he looks like a big league guy. I’m all for development but at some point some guys just seem to have “it”. I say give him a shot.
