Inside the Astros

Houston Astros Star Prospect Continues Hot Streak, Shows Fielding Prowess

The Houston Astros superstar prospect has dominated at the plate throughout spring training, but flashed some leather during their latest win as well.
Dylan Sanders|
Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Cam Smith (90) plays his position against the New York Mets during the second inning at Clover Park.
Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Cam Smith (90) plays his position against the New York Mets during the second inning at Clover Park. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have looked like one of the smartest teams early on in spring training as their big offseason acquisition has had as good of a start as imaginable.

Trading away a player like Kyle Tucker will always hurt, but getting someone like Cam Smith will make it hurt a lot less.

Smith has had a phenomenal start to his professional career and this spring training has been no different.

There has yet to be an appearance in an Astros uniform that hasn't left fans begging for more.

He had another nice day at the plate against the New York Yankees on Saturday night as he went 1-for-2 with a single and another walk drawn.

He now has a .615/.722/1.231 slash line with two home runs and seven RBI in 18 plate appearances. He also has a 5-to-2 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

Common sense says he has to slow down at some point, but that has not yet happened.

One of the only questions remaining about Smith right now is where he will end up playing in the field. With a bat like his, Houston will find a spot no matter what, but they do ideally want him to look comfortable there.

He has spent a lot of time in college and in the minors at third base, mostly because of his cannon of an arm, but that isn't the only place that has been floated for him.

While his arm has a lot of strength, he has not showcased much accuracy in the past. During his final year with the Florida State Seminoles, he committed seven errors in just 66 games. He had three in 24 hames in the minors last season.

It's not that he can't end up there when he gets called up, but the Astros need to see more out of him before that happens.

During Saturday night's game, he did have one of his first web gems. It actually came during an intense shift where he was essentially playing shortstop.

Smith made a nice diving catch to his left, grabbing the ball out of the air. It wasn't an absurd play, but a difficult one that it is nice to see him complete. His range might be his biggest concern, given that he isn't very fast, so it was nice to see him show a bit of that off.

If the 22-year-old does end up at third base, it would allow Isaac Paredes to move to second base and give Houston a complete infield.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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