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With the Houston Astros preparing for the trade deadline at the end of the month, it's essential to note that the team has been marked by impressive performances and an immense amount of young talent. Though one is currently on the injured list in Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, the other is rookie Cam Smith, who some have even compared to Carlos Correa.
Speaking with The Athletic, Houston bench coach Omar Lopez would recall Smith talking to the team at Spring Training for his 22nd birthday. The coach would say that the speech gave him goosebumps, with Smith reminding him of Correra with “his poise and eloquence,” as he spoke about his time with the Chicago Cubs minor league team and his excitement playing with Latin players.
“I just talked about how I had the best time playing in Low-A ball because it was all Latin players,” Smith said. “And (how) I was excited to play with a bunch of Latin guys here.”
So far in 78 games, Smith has seven home runs with 39 RBIs to go with a .287 batting average with Houston, as he was originally with the Cubs, but was dealt in the trade featuring Kyle Tucker. Manager Joe Espada was also impressed with Smith's first talk to the team.
“It’s a clubhouse full of veteran guys, winners, MVPs, batting champions, Silver Sluggers,” Espada said. “It can be a very intimidating room for anyone.”
“It was not exactly what he said, but the way that he said it,” Espada continued. “You could see how genuine he was. His humility, his confidence, his presence. You could just tell this kid was going to be a star, based on watching the eyes of the crowd that he was talking to. I’m like, ‘OK, we’ve got something special.’”
Astros' Jose Altuve likens Cam Smith to Jeremy Pena
With Smith impressing the team, another player who has been talked highly of on the Astros is the injured Pena, who is looking to come back and continue his showcase. Batting a .322 average (fourth in the MLB) with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs, Jose Altuve would go as far as to call him a “superstar.”
“He’s going to be a superstar,” Altuve said. “I can tell by his attitude. He cares. He wants to be the best.”
“It’s not the talent he has. It’s that he wants to learn,” Altuve continued. “He’s a quick learner. Every little thing the coaches and players tell him to get better, he applies it right away.”
In fact, Altuve believes that Pena and Smith both share the same superstar qualities.
“This is my (15th) season in the big leagues. You start learning about players who come and go,” Altuve said. “The two of them had something in common when I first saw them. They looked like they would do everything to get better. Work hard. Listen. Show up every day with the same intensity.”
At any rate, Houston is 55-37, which puts them first in the AL West.
