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43 articles
HOU • Outfielder • #11
9 days ago
The Astros nearly botched a golden opportunity after loading the bases with none out in the 10th, with Jose Altuve hitting into an unusual 6-2-5 double play. Smith, however, then plated two with a two-out liner off the Green Monster. It gave him his second three-hit game of the year. He’s hitting .229/.316/.381 through 137 plate appearances.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
12 days ago
Smith capped off a five-run uprising in the opening inning with a 414-foot (108.1 mph EV) three-run shot off of Orioles’ right-hander Brandon Young. That would be hit lone hit in four at-bats on the night, though he also worked a walk. For the season, the 23-year-old outfielder is slashing an underwhelming .219/.317/.381, though he has blasted four home runs, stolen four bases and driven in 15.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
12 days ago
He’ll likely start the second game. Smith has seen his OPS nosedive over the past week — he was at .868 on April 15, and he enters play on Thursday at .670, with just one steal or homer over that timespan.
Source: MLB Lineups
HOU • Outfielder • #11
22 days ago
This is a routine day off for Smith, who has gone 3-for-22 over his last seven games. However, even over that stretch, he has a 4/4 K/BB ratio, a 45 percent hard hit rate, and four barrels. His .136 batting average over that last week is a far cry from his .293 xBA. While expected stats are not perfect, Smith continues to make plenty of hard contact this season, with massive improvements in bat speed and better plate discipline. We’d imagine a hot stretch is coming again. In the meantime, Taylor Trammell will continue to start in center field, Dustin Harris will play right field against a right-handed pitcher, and Brice Matthews will start in left field.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
about 1 month ago
Smith blistered a pair of doubles and singled twice. The 23-year-old was in a mini-slump with a 1-for-11 mark over his last three games, but this is more inline — to a higher extent, of course — to what we’ve seen to begin the 2026 season. He’s now up to an OPS of .941, and it’s a wonderful reminder of why fantasy managers were so excited to see what he can do in 2025.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
about 1 month ago
Smith absolutely destroyed a Ryan Feltner offering, and it traveled an estimated 462 feet in the air with an exit velocity just under 111 mph. He also drew a walk and doubled to raise his slash to .297/.422/.595 with three homers in the first 11 games. There’s a long way to go, but it’s great to see Smith look like the player that enticed — but ultimately disappointed — fantasy managers in 2025 as a rookie.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
about 1 month ago
Smith draws his first off day after starting eight consecutive contests in right field. The 23-year-old former top prospect is hitting .222 (6-for-27) with one homer and two steals this season. The fact that he’s posted a near-elite 74.4 mph bat speed so far is an encouraging sign for his future, even if he’s not making a ton of loud contact right now. It’ll be Joey Loperfido taking over in right field in his place.
Source: MLB.com
HOU • Outfielder • #11
about 1 month ago
The homer was hit just 346 feet and would have been an out in a lot of ballparks, but he’ll take it. The walk came five pitches after Smith somehow got away with a phantom swing and a miss for strike three, but he’ll also take that. Smith doesn’t seem quite ready to bust out as a star as a sophomore, but if he keeps playing regularly, he’ll probably offer some mixed-league value.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
2 months ago
Smith knocked in his first run on an infield single in the first inning, but then blasted a 106 mph ground rule double to score another run in the sixth inning. The 23-year-old took an extreme groundball approach in the second half of the 2025 season to make consistent contact and get his batting average up, but he has been clearly trying to pull and lift the ball more this spring. Given what Smith did in his MLB at-bats last season with barely any plate appearances in the high minors, we should expect him to take a clear step forward this season, and he is outplaying Zach Cole for a starting outfield role.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
2 months ago
Smith did his damage off of Orlando Ribalta in the fifth inning, demolishing a fastball for a 440-foot (107.5 mph EV) solo shot. That would prove to be the extent of the Astros’ offense in the ballgame. The 23-year-old outfielder also picked up a single in the eighth inning. For the spring, he’s hitting a solid .278 (5-for-18) with one homer and one RBI in the early going.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
2 months ago
Smith was a revelation last spring, delivering a Grapefruit League campaign for the ages to break camp in the majors. He experienced plenty of turbulence during his rookie season and will need another strong spring effort to ensure that he opens the year with Houston instead of back in the minors. He’s talented enough to make a serious fantasy impact if he puts it all together at the highest level.
HOU • Outfielder • #11
6 months ago
It’ll be interesting to see how the Astros go about navigating their outfield. They’ve already indicated that Yordan Alvarez will see more left field time and that Jose Altuve is again slated to play both second base and left field. The club still has Jake Meyers in center, with breakout prospect Zach Cole and Jacob Melton also options there. Another big bat would be nice, but shutting out Smith, who could be greatly improved as a sophomore, might be a mistake, and Sánchez, if he isn’t moved, would probably do solid work against righties, even though he was a disappointment after being picked up from Miami.
Source: The Athletic
HOU • Outfielder • #11
8 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
9 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
9 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
9 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
9 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
10 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
10 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
10 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
10 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
10 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
10 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
10 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
11 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
11 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
11 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
11 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
11 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
11 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.