HOUSTON -- The Astros have been wanting, and waiting for, rookie right fielder Cam Smith to start pulling the ball more. Of his first nine hits in the big leagues, only two were hit to left field, including his first career home run a week ago.
Smith clearly has shown he can hit pitches to the opposite field, but pulling the ball has been a work in progress and perhaps the last piece to him becoming an elite big-league hitter. So when a sellout Daikin Park crowd roared in approval when he homered to left field in his first two at-bats Friday night in the Astros¡¯ 6-4 win over the Padres, manager Joe Espada was roaring, too.
¡°Confidence-builder,¡± Espada said. ¡°Two big swings. That was great to see, and also pulling the ball and getting his hands inside. We know how good he is going right-center field, but to see him pulling the ball with authority is a really good sign.¡±
Smith, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the club¡¯s top prospect, is the first Astros player to hit two home runs in a game this year. At 22 years, 55 days old, he is the youngest Astros player to hit two homers in a game since Yordan Alvarez on Aug. 17, 2019 (22 years, 51 days).
¡°It¡¯s awesome,¡± Smith said. ¡°I think baseball is all about momentum, and I think we racked up a lot of hits as an offense and the pitchers kept the runners on base. It¡¯s good momentum for us.¡±
Smith, who parlayed a strong spring into the starting job in right field to begin the year, was 9-for-49 with two extra-base hits entering Friday. Then he turned on a Kyle Hart fastball in the second inning and sent it a Statcast-projected 403 feet to left field for a three-run homer that put the Astros ahead, 3-1. The ball would have been a homer in all 30 parks. He had 41,431 fans carrying him around the bases.
¡°The crowd tonight was electric,¡± Smith said. ¡°I loved it all game. They actually filled out the crowd. It was a packed stadium. I looked up on the fourth deck and there was people filling up the whole row. That was pretty good, and they started doing the wave and stuff. I love being home and love these fans.¡±
In the fourth inning, Smith reached down and poked a Hart sweeper into the front row of the Crawford Boxes for a 5-2 lead. That ball traveled a projected 361 feet and would have been a home run in only one park. The pull power comes from some changes Smith made with his timing to allow him to get his hands extended and be on time.
¡°He¡¯s so good at staying right, fight-center field,¡± Espada said. ¡°His discipline at the plate is really, really good and trusting his ability to get stuff out in front and take advantage of the Crawford Boxes once in a while.¡±
Smith said the first 19 games of his big league career have been a crash course in baseball, especially considering he had played in just five games above the Double-A level entering this year. There was due to be a learning curve, and it has played out with all eyes on him because he¡¯s replacing Kyle Tucker, an early MVP candidate in the National League with the Cubs.
¡°For me, he¡¯s progressing,¡± Espada said. ¡°Sometimes we want to slow things down [like] any young player, remind him to be successful you¡¯ve got to be patient. It¡¯s one swing at a time, one at-bat at a time -- and he¡¯s doing just that. That fact he pulled the ball with authority, that¡¯s a good sign. That¡¯s exactly what we need out of him.¡±
Smith said his cue to being on time is when the pitcher begins his movement toward the plate. That¡¯s when he starts picking up his foot to be ready to react to the pitch.
¡°My reactions weren¡¯t quick enough,¡± he admitted.
The challenge now for Smith is to build on his first two-homer game and continue to refine the adjustments that clicked so well on Friday. Smith is feeling more comfortable by the day.
¡°Honestly, I feel like me again,¡± he said. ¡°There was a lot to learn in the first 19 games. But it¡¯s a good feeling to produce for the guys.¡±