MLB Executives Across the League Have Been Impressed with This Houston Astros Star

The Houston Astros haven’t had a ton to get their fans excited about over the first month of the 2025 MLB regular season.

This past offseason was a tough one with all of the talent that departed, setting the stage for another slow start. Replacing third baseman Alex Bregman, right fielder Kyle Tucker, future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander and veteran relief pitcher Ryan Pressly was going to be easier said than done.

On the mound, the team has watched Hunter Brown ascend to becoming an ace. Hayden Wesneski and Ryan Gusto have stepped up in the rotation behind him. Josh Hader has returned to his dominant form as the closer.

Steven Okert, Bryan King and Bryan Abreu combine with him to be one of the best relief quartets in the game right now.

In the lineup, replacing the lost production has been much tougher.

Virtually the entire team is mired in a slump. Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez have not yet found their groove, leading to underwhelming production overall from the lineup.

But, there is one player providing a lot of excitement and optimism: rookie right fielder Cam Smith.

The talented first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft has been garnering attention from around the league.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com recently put together a piece highlighting who executives around the MLB answering a few questions about the first month of the season.

One of the questions was who the most impressive rookie has been to date. Two of the participants selected Smith.

Acquired in the Tucker blockbuster from the Chicago Cubs, he was a third baseman who began converting to the outfield in spring training. His athleticism has helped the transition, with coaches amazed at how much of a natural he looks in the grass.

Smith hasn’t hurt the team at all defensively, in fact, he has done the opposite. He has been a bright spot, producing some incredible numbers with his glove. His acclimation to right field has the team considering an expansion of his versatility, tossing around the idea of him playing some center field down the road.

His red-hot performance in spring training at the plate is what helped him earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Never playing above Double-A, it was unrealistic to expect him to remain as productive right out of the gate. But, he has not looked totally overwhelmed with a .213/.306/.373 slash line, hitting thee home runs with 10 RBI.

He has a 95 OPS+ thus far, which is slightly below average but higher than Alvarez, Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker, Brendan Rodgers and Jake Meyers in the starting lineup.

The sky is the limit with his massive potential and Smith is just scratching the surface at 22 years old.