HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Mired in a disappointing season in Atlanta, Will Smith was excited when he was traded to the Astros before last month’s deadline after a conversation with Braves bullpen coach Drew French, who spent four seasons as a coach in his new team’s minor league system.
“He said you can go there, and these guys can fix you,” Smith said the day he joined the Astros. “Houston’s spitting out pitchers left and right that dominate, so hopefully they can fix me.”
A season after he was the closer for the World Series champs, recording the final out of all 11 Braves postseason games, Smith saw his ERA and walk rate go up in 2022, while his strikeout rate plummeted.
2021 ERA: 3.44
2021 Walk rate: 9.9%
2021 Strikeout rate: 30.7%
2022 ERA with Atlanta: 4.38
2022 walk rate with Atlanta: 12.3%
2022 strikeout rate with Atlanta: 24%
Smith’s ERA is 2.45 in 16 appearances with the Astros. His strikeout rate has risen to 25.4 percent, while his walk rate has fallen dramatically to 5.1 percent. Certainly, an improvement, but not back to where he wants to be.
“I’m slowly getting it together,” Smith said last week. “It obviously hasn’t been the best year for me, but working with the pitching coaches here just trying to get something to click and get on a roll. I feel like we're close.”
The 33-year old lefty has always been dependent on his slider, and his lack of effectiveness this season can be traced back to that pitch. Opposing hitters batted just .124 against Smith’s slider last season, and came up empty on 49.4 percent of their swings against it. Opponents are still only hitting .177 against Smith’s slider this season, but the whiff rate with Atlanta was down to 42.8 percent. His swing and miss rate on that pitch has jumped to 49.2 percent since the trade to Houston.
“Anytime guys are swinging at my slider I know my delivery’s in the right spot, we’re using it at the right times. Me and (Martin Maldonado) have had a bunch of talks. When we were together in Milwaukee, we felt like we could throw it anytime and guys were swinging at it, so we're starting to get there.”
The Astros have been focused on fixing Smith’s mechanics in the six weeks since the trade.
“We're still trying to shore up his delivery,” Astros pitching coach Josh Miller said. “Get a little more consistent lines down the mound, and get a little more power behind his stuff and bury the slider a little more consistently.”
Smith has gone nine straight outings without allowing an earned run, and in that span he’s struck out 31 percent of the hitters he’s faced while walking just one of the 29 men he’s faced. Miller says he’s still working to regain his form from a season ago, but he’s making gains each time he pitches.