Astros Star Rookie Has Looked Best Since Spring Training During Elite June Stretch

Back in spring training, it started to feel like young Houston Astros star Cam Smith would never have a bad game in his life.

Smith didn't have the cleanest start to his MLB career, but he is starting to turn a corner as he has strung together some great performances to start June.

In the 10 game stretch from June 8 to Jun 18, Smith has posted a .400/.429/.675 slash line with two home runs and nine RBI. It isn't the biggest sample size, but it's a great sign to see him sustain his success at the plate over any period of time.

After the first 60 games of his MLB career, his slash line is up to .276/.347/.424 with a 117 OPS+ and five home runs with 27 RBI.

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It's hard to complain about that production out of a rookie, even considering what the expectations were coming out of his spring training performance that earned him a roster spot.

The start to Smith's professional career has been a bit of a whirlwind. He was drafted No. 14 overall last year and put together a stellar few months for the Chicago Cubs.

The hype was already growing around him, but then he was traded to the Astros almost out of nowhere as the center of the Kyle Tucker deal.

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Smith was considered a long shot to make the Opening Day roster given that he had just turned 22 and had played just 32 games as a pro.

Then he slashed .342/.419/.711 with four home runs in 15 games. Houston moved him to right field to start the year and the rest has been history.

The Florida native had shown flashes throughout the year, but went 43 games without hitting a home run with a high strikeout rate. Some started to get a little bit nervous, which seems a little unfair.

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Smith has a super fast bat and has shown a great work ethic, given how quickly he has picked up a postion in right field.

His start in the field has actually been electric with four outs above average and nine defensive runs saved.

This stretch of games should be validating for anyone who remained excited about the young slugger and for Smith himself.

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Overall, this has still been a very exciting rookie campaign for Smith and is only getting better right now. It will be interesting to see just how long he can keep playing at this level.

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