WEST PALM BEACH (SportsRadio 610)- On Thursday, I sat in Dana Brown’s office inside the Astros spring training facility that overlooks left field of Cacti Park and asked him what or who has stood out through the first two weeks of camp.
“That’s easy,” Brown replied back with a grin. “Cam Smith.”
Two days before, Brown watched Smith club two homers to the opposite field against the New York Mets after working walks in both plate appearances against the Washington Nationals three days prior. The 22-year old has reached base in 5-of-7 spring training plate appearances.
Brown had an idea of what he was getting when he acquired Smith from the Chicago Cubs in the Kyle Tucker trade, but after seeing him every for the first two weeks of spring training, the Astros GM is even more impressed.
“The human being is special,” Brown said. “When you nail the human being on a draft pick, that's when you usually see special things happen.”
Brown scouted Smith last season at Florida State, but Smith was off the board 14 picks before the Astros spot in the first round came up.
“We like the tools and the ability, but just getting to know him and how dedicated he is to his craft, and how competitive he is, but yet humble. It’s a treat.”
Smith was an infielder in college and during his brief time in the Cubs organization, but Brown floated the possibility of Smith playing the outfield after he was acquired in December, but so far, his defensive work has been done with Major League third base coach/infield coach Tony Perezchica and minor league infield coordinator Joey Ortiz, but that doesn’t mean a stint to the outfield for Smith is out of the cards.
“We felt like he can run fast enough to play right field, and he could really throw, so if the bat continues to come and develop, we may get him some outfield reps knowing that (he’s) probably a clearer path to get into the big leagues faster as an outfielder.
“We knew when we traded for him there was a chance that he could end up in the outfield because he's such a tall third baseman, and you don't really see a lot of third basemen that tall.”
According to StatHead, only four players listed at Smith’s height, six feet, three inches, or taller started 80 or more games at third base last season.
Smith slashed 313/.396/.609 in 32 games with three different Cubs affiliates last season, which has him inside the top 60 on most public prospect lists, and 20th on Baseball America’s top 100 rankings. No matter how much fans clamor for it, Smith has no chance to make the Astros Opening Day roster, but a decision on where he’ll start the 2025 season has not been made.
“We’re gonna let him continue to play it out,” Brown said. “Sometimes the players will let you know where they should start, and I think that's the big point, and I think if you continue to watch this guy, you'll get an idea of where he should start.”