The Houston Astros conducted a major trade in the offseason, sending superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs. While losing a player of Tucker’s caliber hurts, the Astros were able to get back two studs.
Isaac Paredes was just named an All-Star replacement and has been incredible in his first season in Houston. But the most impressive addition from the Tucker trade has been rookie outfielder Cam Smith.
The right fielder for the Astros has been impressing since his MLB debut, and in the eyes of Eric Cole of Climbing Tal’s Hill, Smith should have strong odds to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
“If he continues to find his power and make consistent contact while also showcasing surprisingly good defense in the outfield,” Cole writes, “He is going to have as strong a case for Rookie of the Year as anyone.”
He started the year off slow, hitting .213 through April, and his first 23 games of his MLB career. He had a .679 OPS and three home runs at this point, and he wasn’t a major difference maker.
But, since the start of May, Smith is batting .313 with a .816 OPS. He has four home runs and 29 RBIs in this span. While his power numbers aren’t coming to fruition just yet, he’s hitting the ball a lot better than he was to start the year.
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He’s working towards being a top contender for the AL Rookie of the Year award, but even if the season ended today, Smith would have a decent shot at winning the award.
His top competition for the award at this point in the season is Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez and Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson. All three have strong cases to make, with each player having different profiles.
Wilson is the best pure hitter of the three, with a .335 batting average and a .847 OPS compared to Narvaez’s .280 average and .807 OPS, and Smith’s .286 average and .779 OPS.
But according to Baseball Savant’s metrics, Wilson is by far the worst defender of the three, with 36th percentile Fielding Run Value compared to Narvaez’s 98th percentile FRV and Smith’s 68th percentile FRV.
While Smith isn’t the best fielder or hitter of the three, he is still progressing in every category. Going by WAR, Wilson is in last with 2.2 WAR, Smith in second with 2.3, and Narvaez with 2.9.
There’s still plenty of season left, and if Smith continues to progress like he has, he could close the gap and surpass Narvaez in WAR and offense overall. It’ll be a great race, as all three have strong cases to win the award.
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