Perhaps the most intriguing player to follow in spring training was Cam Smith. While Houston Astros fans were mostly focused on Isaac Paredes at the time of the Kyle Tucker trade, Smith's spring training performance opened the eyes of not only fans of the team, but of the sport.
Smith had 13 hits in 38 at-bats (.342 batting average) with four home runs and 11 RBI in 15 spring training appearances. That was good enough for the Astros to place him on their Opening Day roster.
With Smith on the team, he's expected to play regularly in the outfield. Here's where he might hit in the team's Opening Day lineup.
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Projected Astros Opening Day lineup has Cam Smith playing a big role
Batting Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
1 | Jose Altuve | LF |
2 | Isaac Paredes | 3B |
3 | Yordan Alvarez | DH |
4 | Christian Walker | 1B |
5 | Yainer Diaz | C |
6 | Cam Smith | RF |
7 | Jeremy Pena | SS |
8 | Mauricio Dubon | 2B |
9 | Jake Meyers | CF |
It was anyone's best guess as to what this Astros lineup was going to look like without key contributors like Tucker and Alex Bregman. The Astros undoubtedly will miss both players, but this lineup is as solid as any Astros fan could've realistically expected.
There might be issues defensively in the outfield with Altuve and Smith, two natural infielders, playing there, and they might be extremely right-handed heavy, but this lineup, at least from one through seven, can beat you in many different ways. Smith is sure to be right in the middle of the action hitting behind Christian Walker (who is expected to be ready for Opening Day) and Yainer Diaz, one of the best hitting catchers in the game.
The Astros are taking a big risk here, with Smith. While he undoubtedly performed well in spring training, he has little to no outfield experience and has played a total of five games at the Double-A level. He has 32 total games under his belt in his professional career. The Astros are making this decision based on 15 spring training games. This could absolutely pay off, but it's a lot to ask for a 22-year-old to play a new position while making a massive jump to the major leagues.
The risk that Houston is taking is worth keeping in the back of Astros fans' minds, but this is still an exciting day for the organization. Smith could easily be a star in the making, and if he is, all Astros fans will remember this moment.