The Astronauts are considering time in midfield Cam Smithreported by Chandler Rome of track and field. Roma noted that nothing is imminent and the club has no plans to make Smith a daily midfielder. This is more about adding some extra versatility to give the club the ability to put someone in Zach Dezenzo From time to time.
The club has been active with Smith. The prospect of third base, the Astronauts moved him to the right field during spring training because they had Isaac Paredes In popular. Smith’s performance was enough to make the Opening Day lineup a daily right-fielder, although there was little experience there. Overall, he has no professional experience. He was only selected by the Cubs last summer and then played in 32 minor league games in the second half of 2024. Only five of these are Double-A levels, and not in Triple-A. He and Paredes both came to the Astronauts in the offseason deal Kyle Tucker Go to the bear.
All factors are in mind, Smith is good for all aggression. He has a 0.226/.304/.403 line to start his major league career. His 29% strikeout rate is on the high side, but he has 3 home runs that helped him reach 109 WRC+. It’s hard to read a small portion of gloves, but both the reserved defensive runs and above-average runs think Smith has been above par in the field so far.
The Astronauts were obviously satisfied with the results and were so confident in his abilities that they got another test. According to Roma, they began to provide him with some midfield representatives during pre-match workouts. “When you break down the reasons for being a great midfielder, you’ll see the reaction, the route, the speed and the arms. So far, he’s shown the ability to do all of these things,” outfield coach Jason Bell told Roma. “I know it’s early, but from the early signs you can see the chance that he might do that.”
Roma mentioned that this might be a way to add some extra attack occasionally. Houston’s regular midfielder is Jack Meyershe is a strong defender, but in the 1,250 sets of the pro batting line, which translates to 87 WRC+.
The occasional move to center will put the Astronauts on the billiards and bring another bat into the lineup. Rome mentioned Dezenzo as a possibility. He plays first base primarily in the major leagues, but also has some short time on the second, third and wild corners. His .238/.282/.363 batting line is no better than Meyers, but he has only 85 major league appearances. In 2023 and 2024, he stepped on the board 636 times in minors as the .303/.384/.517 line and 139 WRC+.
Meyers’ entry into the outfield may add some offense, but it will be a noteworthy gamble on defense. The club is using the first second baseman Jose Altuve In the left field, therefore, the outfield alignment of Altuve/Smith/Dezenzo will effectively involve three converted infielders. Meyers, on the other hand, won 22 defensive scores in his career, 38 innings above the average. There are two infielders out there with great defenders like Meyers already a bit of a gamble, but this new consideration will keep this evolving.
It’s a still experimental program, Rome notes that Smith is totally impossible to attend the center, but it’s worth noting that the club is tinkering with people like this Christian Walker,,,,, Yainer Diaz and Yordan Alvarez They are all on the plate.
