Great. His .419 was third in the league of favorable hitter's environments. Although not a huge priority, talking about filling out the final few roster spots is interesting to me. I also enjoy discussing the last couple of bullpen spots. Okert, Contreras, Castro, Van Wey?
There's a week left, but more and more Chas in AAA feels like a very realistic, if not likely, outcome. Walking against spring competition isn't impressing anybody. Dezenzo and Cam are making it very hard to send either down, and they need as many ABs as possible. I'm not sure if he thought he was trying to win a job, but coming off last season he absolutely should have without anybody telling him. Him and Meyers don't complement each other at all, and Meyers is just the safer floor bet right now if we're talking just CF ABs.
I posted it a page back, but with that lineup it"s Altuve 2B/LF Paredes 3B/2B Alvarez DH/LF Walker 1B Smith RF/3B Diaz C Peña SS Dezenzo LF/RF/1B Meyers CF Any can DH if Alvarez ever plays LF
Jeebus is this a Split/Squad game? What's the OD lineup and who's on the bench? Who's in your rotation and who's in the pen?
Personally, I think the team is best with Altuve at 2B. If he is in LF, Dezenzo RF, Cam 3B, Paredes 2B. Altuve 2B Paredes 3B Alvarez DH Walker 1B Smith RF Diaz C Peña SS Dezenzo LF Meyers CF Caratini, Dubon, Rodgers, either Chas or Hummel Framber Brown Arrighetti Blanco Wesneski Hader Abreu Scott King Okert Contreras Van Wey Castro Add McCullers end of April.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6219720/2025/03/21/astros-cam-smith-prospect-spring-training/ “Obviously he’s older than Carlos Correa, but I had Carlos when he was 19 years old. It’s the same way Cam Smith goes about his business,” Astros bench coach Omar López said. “He’s the best player in this spring training camp that we got right now, numbers-wise. He’s the best performer,” utilityman Mauricio Dubón said. “Still, 6 a.m., 6:30 a.m., he’s in the cages working. He’s grounded and working every day. It’s only been five weeks, but what I’ve seen in five weeks, everyone likes him.” “He does look like a big leaguer to me,” shortstop Jeremy Peña said. “He’s a guy that, if he stays healthy and keeps doing what he’s doing, he’ll play in the big leagues for a really, really long time.” “You can quote me on this: When he figures it out, 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,” said Dubón, who dresses two lockers away from Smith. “He’ll put in the work and he’s got that much pop.” “I like that I don’t see him overswinging a lot,” first baseman Christian Walker said. “It looks like he trusts that and he knows he just has to put the bat on the ball and good things can potentially happen for him. When I see plate discipline, it’s watching a guy who feels like he knows who he is at the plate.” Smith’s .419/.500/.871 slash line this spring does not represent the entirety of his offensive prowess. He has impressed team officials and opposing scouts with how early he chooses to take pitches, showing both an understanding of the strike zone and the sort of pitches against which he can do damage. “You see that and you see the confidence after the takes,” Astros hitting coach Troy Snitker said. “Like, ‘Yes, I made the right decision.’ I think that’s an important thing, that it looks like he’s always ready to hit and then he makes the decision to not swing, not the decision to swing.” Upon shaking his hand, Peña proclaimed, “That’s a strong boy.” “He’s built like a Transformer,” Peña said. “You can see that. He looks the part. But he acts the part, too.” Peña described Smith as “pure,” someone with a “pure heart and pure mind, a guy that you can talk to, a guy you can get dinner with and a guy you want to hang out with.” “Everybody is talented here. Everybody is good. But being a good person, being a good clubhouse guy says a lot more than what you do on the field,” Dubón said. For Walker, the newest addition to the Astros’ veteran-laden clubhouse, it is clear Smith has “separated himself” with his on-field performance. Everything he’s observed off of it is far more meaningful. “As a teammate, I want to be able to look over and know I can trust that guy when s— is hitting the fan,” Walker said. “I think the makeup, the calmness, the maturity, confidence, all that, kind of adds up into making that decision of ‘I can trust this guy’ or ‘I don’t want that guy in a spot where a game is on the line.’ So far, he’s checking all the boxes for sure.” “Little things” are important, Walker said, like Smith maintaining eye contact in conversations. So is consistency in tone and how Smith is treating teammates. That Smith has stayed “in control of himself” as outside attention grows is commendable, Walker said. He is even taking some good-natured teasing from teammates in stride. “Just talking s—, like normal talking s—. Like, ‘That’s all you got? Don’t f— it up. Don’t mess it up. If you hit a home run, you make the team,'” Dubón said. “And he takes it … and hits a homer.” “He doesn’t pout or anything. He’s going to fit in great.” “Amazing kid. Great swing, under control,” Altuve said of Smith. “He seems like he’s very mature for being a year in professional baseball. He controls his at-bats.” “He dominated his first year in pro ball and 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.”
Having Smith and Dezenzo look good is very promising for the team if they can keep it up. Not only in terms of developing talent but also to keep guys like Hummel out of the lineup who have little to nothing to offer.
Went ahead and joined some buddies for opening day. Knowing Smith will probably make the roster, I haven’t been this excited for opening day in a long time.
