Cam Smith won over the Astros’ clubhouse way back in spring training and it shows

Last December, the Houston Astros made a trade heard around baseball when they dealt Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a bevy of players. At the time, most of the attention was paid toward Issac Paredes and Hayden  Wesneski since they both had previous MLB experience. 

But as the first half winds down, the real star of the show has been rookie Cam Smith, who is having tons of success despite entering the year with just 32 games of minor league experience under his belt. 

But as Ken Rosenthal detailed in a recent story for The Athletic (subscription required), Smith’s success hasn’t been a surprise to anyone in the Astros’ organization. 

Cam Smith won over the Astros’ clubhouse way back in spring training and it shows

Per Rosenthal, Smith spoke to the Astros in spring training, where he quickly wowed both players and coaches with his poise, so much so that some members of the team told Rosenthal that it reminded them of when Carlos Correa was a rookie. 

Smith’s also looked like Correa in the batter’s box, as he entered play on Friday hitting .289 with seven home runs and 39 RBI in 79 games. A third baseman by trade, he learned the outfield on the fly in the spring and currently ranks in the 90th percentile in Outs Above Average. 

The Astros’ lineup has been plagued by injuries and underperformance this year, but Smith has helped keep them afloat as they navigate a lack of production from Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve and Christian Walker. 

While Smith’s exploits on the field are also noteworthy, it seems clear that he’s also a good hang, which goes a long way in a game where guys are spending six straight months around each other. 

Smith told Rosenthal part of his speech to the team was about how he enjoyed playing in Low-A because of all the Latin players. That sentiment wasn’t lost on the Astros’ Latin heavy roster. 

“We have a lot of those,” Mauricio Dubón recalled, per Rosenthal. “He’s going to fit right in.”

Smith’s production has also helped the Astros’ trade of Tucker look a little better. While Tucker has been worth 4.1 fWAR with 17 home runs, Smith has been worth 2.3 fWAR and Paredes (who was just named an American League All-Star) has been worth 2.5 fWAR. 

While neither of them will reach Tucker’s production this year (Wesneski underwent Tommy John surgery after just 32 innings), they’ve helped the Astros replace Tucker in the aggregate. They also are both under team control for the foreseeable future, whereas Tucker is set for a big payday in free agency after the season. 

Seeing a homegrown player like Tucker become an MVP candidate for another team is never a good feeling, but Smith’s strong play this season has helped limit that sting.

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