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Houston reporter offers wild Astros-Cam Smith update while Royals take a different path

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Climbing Tal's Hill

Houston Astros infielder Cam Smith / Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Houston Astros fans did not thing that the team's outfield would be so unsettled this late in spring training. But the departure of Kyle Tucker has led to a lot of uncertainty, and the surprise move to put Jose Altuve in the outfield has shaken things up even more.

But nothing is as surprising as the sudden emergence of Astros prospect Cam Smith. Most fans and pundits agree that Smith is uber-talented and could be a critical piece of the Astros future. However, no one thought Smith would have a chance to break camp and be part of the Astros Opening Day roster, and yet he's squarely in the mix with a little over a week left until the season begins.

The latest report from Houston area reporter Will Kunkel will do nothing to silence those rumblings. Kunkel shared the news that Smith has a "GOOD" chance of making the Astros Opening Day roster.

Cam Smith could land on Astros Opening Day roster while KC Royals reassign Jac Caglianone to minor-league camp

Smith has done nothing during spring training to dissuade the Astros from the notion that their top prospect is ready to make the leap to the big leagues. There is, however, a real risk in promoting Smith so quickly given his lack of experience. But he has been a revelation this spring and appears on track to be a cornerstone of the Houston lineup.

Adding Smith would also help solidify what is clearly one of the Astros' weakest positions — the outfield. While Houston is saying all the right things publicly, they can't be feeling too confident about the outfield even if Altuve makes the adjustment to left field. Both Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers stunk out loud at the plate in 2024, and there has been precious little indication that things will be much different this coming season.

No matter how good Smith is, there are valid reasons to send him down to the minors. He has so little experience as a professional and even less as and outfielder. In fact, an exciting prospect with a similar profile and performance this spring was just reassigned to minor-league camp. Kansas City Royals slugger Jac Caglianone, who posted a 1.871 spring OPS this spring, was just cut and will start his season in the minors.

The next few days of camp will reveal how serious the Astros are about Smith's inclusion on the Opening Day roster. If the end of the week arrives and Smith is still in big league camp, you may want to start penciling him into your Opening Day lineup.

More Astros News from Climbing Tal's Hill

Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.