Try to move Meyers, lol... Apparently he's had a "for sale" sign around his neck the last 3 years and nobody offered much of anything. Even Click isn't telling the Blue Jays GM to go after him, despite him betting it all on him back in 2022. In the end, Jake now actually has more value in the current role... not an everyday player, still has range to get to certain balls, not going to be batting in anybody's top of the lineup, is a professional MLB player that will be on a roster more often than not as he's now entering his 30's. Agreed on Smith. He will likely continue to improve on both sides of the field (already very good defensively). Unfortunately he will be closer to free agency when he finally fully develops, unless the Astros take the leap and try and secure him for those prime years. I do expect service time to reduce by at least 1 year if/when the new CBA ever gets approved, one thing the owners likely are willing to concede in the back/forth.
He's not a punch and judy hitter slapping the ball around though. He hits rockets. He needs to hit those rockets in the air. It's not a controversial opinion.
Interestingly enough - Cam has the exact same OBP, OPS, OPS+, SLG, double play% and HBP % as last year. Now he is even better defensively than last year -- he is better on the base paths, and he has turned a few more doubles into homers. Right now he is giving off some serious Alex Gordon vibes --- but I think that he can be better than that as a hitter. Defensively -- Cam should probably win a Gold Glove this year, he is on pace for like 3 WAR as a corner outfielder, which is insane. I also get some Dwayne Murphy vibes as far as production if he is moved to CF. See if he will sign long term cheap enough and put him in CF and let him work on his bat.
I agree with you. He has elite bat speed, he ideally hits the ball in the air, but if he isn't going to do that - then increase the number of line drives. I have heard nothing negative about his work ethic, so I think we will likely see some improvement, he could end up with an OPS around 800 when he is more experienced, but we are very unlikely to see a Jordan Walker or Nelson Cruz type change. Then again, a CF with a 750-800 OPS, with some power and a gold glove, is very valuable. I know that before the season started they added cut tennis balls to the bottom of his bat as an optical way to reprogram his mental and physical memory reflex and start hitting the ball in the air more. It supposedly worked until they took the tennis balls off again.
To this point Cam Smith has been a Jake Meyers level player: an elite defensive OF with inconsistent hitting that totals to below average offense, rendering him an average everyday OF overall. So he is definitely playable, but should realistically be hitting in the 7-8-9 hole until he is able to produce more consistently at the plate. A “complete” lineup if Houston were going to contend would probably look something like: SS Pena DH Alvarez 3B Paredes RF TBD LHH elite hitting OF 1B Walker 2B Altuve CF Smith LF mix of Loperfido, Cole, Trammell, Matthews, Dezenzo, and Whitcomb C Vazquez
If he’s going to whiff and strike out at his current rate, the only way he will become a good hitter is putting them in the air. Striking out well above league average while also putting the ball on the ground above league average isn’t the profile you want.
That triple last night would have been a 420 foot no doubter if he hit it in the air. The only reason it got out of the infield is because he hit the snot out of it. 106 mph and he was late to it. Geez. They guy is just oozing with talent.
How does the tennis balls work? I can't visualize it. If Cam had Correa's approach, he would be MVP. Correa said he often imagines swinging at the bottom half of the ball for certain pitchers. Correa is as cerebral as they come. He probably over thinks it sometimes but Correa needs to take Cam under his wing.
If Cole's bat is good enough to play, he's good enough to play in right field. He has the biggest arm on the team and is very rangey. Finding a good hitting left fielder should be easier.
...and I'm not talking about selling out for HR (HR will come), just proper gap-to-gap power would be a great thing Guy could hit 50 2B every season
Not that you'd get a whole lot back, but yes, any team in MLB who wants better OF defense would be interested in Meyers
Loperfido appears he can solidify either corner OF position. He's got the defense for RF and his bat seems above average at worst considering his 139 OPS+ last season and .400 BAbip this year. He's not "cleanup-hitter good" right now obviously but health seems the only thing stopping him with a hint of LHP struggle. He could legit bat as high as 6th (7th surely) "this" season and equal an elite offense.
I have never used it or even seen it used - it sounds like something that a coach or science guy came up. The balls being cut and attached to the bat supposedly impact the swing plane and you train your muscle memory to have a new swing. It seems like Cam is having a really hard time adjusting his swing path to the point where it is just automatic. Seems easy, but if you have spent your entire life doing it one way, changing it to the point that it is nothing but muscle memory is very hard. I personally don't think he should sell out 100% for power like some guys do - he just needs more line drives - Hidalgo happens when you try to turn doubles into homers.
Very interesting that they brought up Price over Salazar. He’s got 10 HR in 47 games this season so there’s some power potential there. He has not impressed me with his defense the handful of times I’ve seen him in person in AA and AAA but he was passable. Hes a big dude, looks even bigger than the 6’4” he’s listed at. I choose to be optimistic about Lamonte Wade.
Price was a bit of a surprise as for minor league catchers I mainly see janek and schiavone talked about. If late night Lamonte is better than Cole/Loperfido/DeZenzo I'll take it.
Even though the coaches and scouts likes Salazar behind the plate, not all the pitchers on the big-league staff did. He seems like a hard worker and good guy, I hope he catches on as a back up somewhere long term. At least with Wade you know that he has done it before and he hasn't had injuries or age.
is it time to move on from jake? yes, i know i know great out fielder. however, TERRIBLE TERRIBLE arm. he's not strong nor accurate with his throw whatsoever. the dislocated shoulder really fugged him up. at the plate, when it's not 1st pitch swinging, he most likely won't come through.
