31 articles
HOU • Outfielder • #11
2 months ago
After his triple off the bench last night, Smith was starting Sunday for the third time in four games. This showing, though, won’t help his chances of being in there Tuesday against José Berríos. Smith has started just three of the last nine times the Astros have faced right-handers.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
3 months ago
Smith has not shown much power in his rookie campaign, but he was able to connect on his eighth homer of the season, and first since June 28. The 22-year-old has been awful in August with a .385 OPS coming into Wednesday, but it’s plausible that the talented outfielder will start to see more hits dropping — and dropping over the fence — over the final 25-plus games.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
3 months ago
With Yordan Alvarez hopefully on the way back and Jake Meyers also due to return at some point, there’s a chance Smith might finish this season in Triple-A. He’s batting just .156/.222/.200 since the All-Star break, and he hasn’t homered since June 28.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
3 months ago
Smith takes a seat after starting 12 of the last 15 games for Houston since July 23. The 22-year-old former top prospect has experienced the usual rookie growing pains at the highest level, alternating sizzling-hot stretches with frustrating cold spells. He’s in the middle of a frosty period at the moment, batting .151 (8-for-53) with zero homer and 16 strikeouts over his last 15 contests. It’ll be Jesús Sánchez taking over in right field on Saturday afternoon in his place.
Source: MLB.com
HOU • Outfielder • #11
3 months ago
Smith is batting .123/.217/.160 in his last 21 games. He was leading off 10 days ago and batted cleanup as recently as last Wednesday, but he’s all of the way down at the bottom tonight. The last time he hit ninth was on May 17.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
4 months ago
Smith is 4-for-35 since the All-Star break, and he also went 0-for-9 in the series against the Rangers immediately before the break. There’s no taking him out of Houston’s lineup right now, but leading off seems like a stretch.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
4 months ago
Smith smacked a two-run double off of Bryan Woo in the fifth inning that tied the game at three runs apiece. That would be his only hit in five at-bats on the day, which included a pair of strikeouts. For the season, the 22-year-old rookie outfielder is now hitting .270/.337/.407 with seven homers, 42 RBI and five stolen bases.
NYY • Outfielder • #11
4 months ago
J.P. Crawford and Jorge Polanco homered off him, but they were solo shots, and Schlittler allowed just two other hits. He struck out seven, and he had a 38 percent CSW on his fastball, which averaged 97.9 mph and topped out at 100.0 mph tonight. Schlitter should remain in the rotation after the break, though the Yankees could temporarily send him down if they wanted a fresh arm for their four remaining games this week.
NYY • Outfielder • #11
4 months ago
This move has been discussed for a few days, but is now official. The 24-year-old has been great this season with a 2.82 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 99/26 K/BB ratio across 76 2/3 innings (15 appearances, 14 starts) between Triple-A and Double-A. He has a high-velocity cut/ride fastball with two good secondaries, but his start on Wednesday against the Mariners will be a big step up in competition. If he performs well, he could remain in the rotation until Luis Gil returns and potentially even keep a spot over Marcus Stroman after that.
NYY • Outfielder • #11
4 months ago
Sherman adds that Schlittler will get the nod to replace an injured Clarke Schmidt, who is likely to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, in New York’s rotation to face the Mariners on Tuesday or Wednesday. The 24-year-old righty has pitched extremely well this season with a sparkling 2.82 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 99/26 K/BB ratio across 76 2/3 innings (15 appearances, 14 starts) this season between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Somerset. We’re advising a wait-and-see approach, but there’s at least a few weeks of runway for Schlittler to make an impression before Luis Gil (lat) is ready to return from the injured list for his season debut.
Source: Joel Sherman
HOU • Outfielder • #11
4 months ago
The big one was a two-run triple that tied the game in the seventh. In truth, though, that was just an 80-mph fly that should have been caught by either the left fielder or the center fielder. Brenton Doyle, though, appeared to be worried about the possibility of a collision and came up short on a diving attempt. Smith, who we promise actually does hit the ball hard quite often, also had a 70-mph double and an 81-mph single in this one. His average is all of the way up to .291.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
4 months ago
Smith singled three times on a night where Houston picked up 16 hits and six different Astros had multi-hit nights. The rookie 22-year-old is now hitting .285 on the season, and his OPS has risen to .785. Smith hit .303/.354/.494 in June, and July has seen a pair of multi-hit games. Pretty good.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Smith has gone deep in both games against his former organization, with this one being a two-run blast off Colin Rea in the third inning that also scored Jake Meyers. In his rookie campaign, Smith is now slashing .281/.355/.434. That’s an impressive slash regardless, but especially for a player that was still at Florida State at this point last year.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
The featured piece heading back to the Astros in the Kyle Tucker trade from this past offseason, Smith was sure to let his former team know what they were missing here. This was his first game against the team that drafted him and he was never retired. Instead, he broke this game open with a booming three-run home run that careened off the wall behind the left field stands in Daikin Park. While Smith got off to a slow start at the plate this season, he’s really turned a corner of late with an .832 OPS over his last 30 games. He’s proven he can hit for a high average – it’s over .300 since May 1st – just without much power to this point. If he can add that power, there could be a huge second half in store for the young right fielder.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
There weren’t many rallies in this one, as the teams combined for one extra-base hit and a total of eight hard-hit balls — seven of those by the Astros. Houston had a 1-0 lead for most of the day, but the Phillies tied it in the top of the eighth before Smith’s single put the Astros back in front. It was Smith’s second hit of the day, and it gave him his first RBI in seven games. He’s batting a solid .271/.343/.402 as a 22-year-old rookie.
NYY • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Schlitter struck out nine while walking one and allowing just two hits. The 6'6" righty has been lights out in his four starts at Triple-A, posting a 1.69 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 33/8 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings. There’s a chance the 24-year-old could push for innings with the Yankees at some point over the summer.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Smith has been on a heater this month, batting .321 (18-for-56) with two homers, 10 RBI and one steal over his last 15 games to earn a shot in the middle of Houston’s lineup with Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz getting a breather during Sunday’s series finale in Los Angeles.
Source: MLB.com
NYY • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Schlitter outdid Joe Boyle, Logan Henderson and Noah Schultz with his Triple-A-high 19 whiffs in Thursday’s action. He has a 2.37 ERA and an 88/24 K/BB in 68 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. The Yankees might not have any need for him in the rotation this year, but it’s going to be tempting to try him in the pen in the second half.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Smith also drew a walk. This comes a day after the rookie 22-year-old went 4-for-5 in the blowout win over the A’s on Tuesday, and his average has increased over 20 points from .253 to .276 in the process. It has been far from a perfect rookie campaign for Smith, but there have been more than enough good moments to suggest he’s going to be a player in this league for a long time.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Smith had an incredible day at the plate on Tuesday, starting with a leadoff homer in the second inning. He did it again in the fourth, leading off the frame with a solo blast off JP Sears. He added a single in the fifth and scored before knocking a double to drive in another run in the eighth. After the four-hit day, the 22-year-old outfielder is batting .266/.336/.412 with five homers, 26 runs scored, 26 RBI, and three steals across 220 plate appearances.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Smith’s grounder hit to the left side hit right in front of the plate, but at 107.5 mph off the bat, if had just enough to get through the infield. Smith also had a 105.8-mph lineout to center today. Since a five-game hitless streak from May 30-June 4, Smith has gone 8-for-28 with six RBI in his last six games. He’s not a consistent run producer just yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Smith returns to right field and will bat sixth on Sunday afternoon following a two-game absence due to illness. The 22-year-old top prospect has gone through the typical ebbs and flows in production as he acclimates to everyday life in the majors roughly one year removed from playing at the collegiate level. He remains one of the most promising young players in the fantasy landscape, even if the on-field production hasn’t quite backed up the hype at times.
Source: MLB.com
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
Smith will sit out his second straight game as he continues to battle an illness that led to him being a late scratch from Friday’s lineup. The 22-year-old top prospect has endured an up-and-down rookie campaign, which isn’t uncommon as young player acclimates to everyday life in the big leagues. It’ll be versatile veteran Mauricio Dubón taking over in right field on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Source: MLB.com
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
The 22-year-old outfielder tried to do everything in his power to give it a go, but ultimately the decision was made to pull him from the lineup shortly before first pitch. Jacob Melton will start in his place in right field and bat ninth for the Astros on Friday evening against Logan Allen and the Guardians.
Source: Julia Morales
HOU • Outfielder • #11
5 months ago
The 22-year-old outfielder tried to do everything in his power to give it a go, but ultimately the decision was made to pull him from the lineup shortly before first pitch. Jacob Melton will start in his place in right field and bat ninth for the Astros on Friday evening against Logan Allen and the Guardians.
Source: Julia Morales
HOU • Outfielder • #11
6 months ago
Smith extended Houston’s early lead in the second inning by scalding a 112.8-mph RBI double into the left-field corner against Rays starter Ryan Pepiot. It was the hardest-hit ball of his rookie campaign by more than two miles per-hour. The 22-year-old top prospect is starting to show some serious signs of life lately, hitting .391 (9-for-23) with three RBI over his last seven games.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
6 months ago
It’s the second straight game, and fourth time in six games, that the 22-year-old outfielder finds himself on the Astros’ bench. Once again, it’s in favor of Zach Dezenzo who will start in right field and bat seventh against Reds’ right-hander Nick Martinez. It seems like Smith could be teetering on the edge of the big league roster and may be better served getting everyday at-bats at Triple-A Sugar Land.
Source: MLB
HOU • Outfielder • #11
6 months ago
Smith has struggled in his jump to the big leagues, slashing .212/.302/.365 in 26 games with a 30 percent strikeout rate. Zach Dezenzo will start in left field on Wednesday, with Chas McCormick getting the start in right field.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
6 months ago
Smith has struggled in his jump to the big leagues, slashing .212/.302/.365 in 26 games with a 30 percent strikeout rate. Zach Dezenzo will start in left field on Wednesday, with Chas McCormick getting the start in right field.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
7 months ago
Smith will get a break for the middle-game of the series against the Royals. The 22-year-old will begin the contest on the bench with Zach Dezenzo getting the start in right and and hit seventh.
Source: Matt Kawahara