Cam Smith prepared for expectations as centerpiece of Kyle Tucker blockbuster trade

HOUSTON — Before every baseball game he plays, Cam Smith scans a playlist and finds somewhere to sit in silence. Soft music from Bob Marley and the Wailers is the soundtrack to a routine that transformed him into one of the sport’s top prospects and a centerpiece of this winter’s most shocking trade.

“Ten deep breaths in through the nose and then 10 deep breaths all the way out through the mouth,” Smith said. “I do that and I’m good. I’m good to go and I feel like a whole new person.”

Meditating is mandatory for Smith. He even does it during games, finding precious seconds between pitches to prioritize his breathing and banish the tension that once hindered him. Downloading the Calm app started Smith’s journey, but now he doesn’t even require its guidance. Reggae and relaxation suffice.

“Ever since I started meditating,” Smith said, “pressure has been a lot easier to handle.”

An increase in those expectations is imminent, but Smith is still calm. He is the crown jewel of the Houston Astros’ three-player return for Kyle Tucker, the player around whom many will judge how well Houston executed this blockbuster.

Smith is the sort of top-end talent the Astros’ farm system has lacked across the past three seasons, a 21-year-old infielder who ascended three minor-league levels in two months. Before becoming a professional, Smith didn’t even know that many affiliates existed. “I’m very new to this,” he acknowledged with a chuckle.

“(The trade) caught me completely off guard,” Smith added. “Before going into pro ball, I had no idea how that life was.”

Smith doesn’t scour social media or pay much mind to any outside talk. He only learned on Monday that outside publications are already labeling him the Astros’ best prospect.

“I was in disbelief. I couldn’t believe that,” Smith said. “It kind of puts me in a spot where they expect a lot out of me, so I expect a lot out of myself. I like that pressure of high expectations. I feel like that would get the best out of me, having that title on my name.”

Last week, friends began to inundate Smith with various posts linking him to potential packages for Tucker. Chicago general manager Carter Hawkins gave Smith the official word on Friday afternoon. An hour later, Houston’s Dana Brown called.

“He said he saw me play one time and he would never forget how good I played,” Smith said. “That was awesome just to hear that — that he had high thoughts about me. I couldn’t believe that. The Astros’ GM speaks highly of me, which is crazy. But it’s reality now.”

Hey, @astros fans, did you know Cam Smith homered in SIX STRAIGHT GAMES?

How's that to start your pro career 😏 pic.twitter.com/2CfuNmCvVa

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) December 13, 2024

Brown scouted Smith during last summer’s draft process, but Houston never had a chance of selecting him at No. 28. The Cubs chose him 14 picks earlier and paid him a $5.07 million signing bonus. The Astros had $5,914,700 in their entire draft bonus pool.

Two rival talent evaluators who scouted Smith marveled at his athleticism and an offensive approach that continued to improve across his two collegiate seasons. All 24 of Smith’s defensive starts in the Cubs’ system came at third base.

Both evaluators were skeptical that third base is Smith’s long-term home, though one said Smith’s “character makes him easier to bet on knowing he will be driven to do what it takes.” One evaluator wondered if right field may be Smith’s eventual permanent position — fitting given the player he was traded for.

Smith acknowledged relying far too much on his athleticism at third base in college. Not until he got to pro ball did he begin to analyze his footwork and drills that involved different spins.

Brown said Smith will split time at third base, first base and right field. He is prone to moving prospects quickly through Houston’s system — and promised to repeat the process with Smith, provided his offense continues to progress. “Whichever position he’s playing the best, we’ll put him in that position as he moves up,” Brown said.

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Smith stands 6-foot-3 and weighs around 225 pounds, but possesses “top-end” bat speed for someone of that size, according to one talent evaluator. Smith slashed .313/.396/.609 and struck out just 24 times in his first 134 professional plate appearances — a small sample, but one still indicative of a simple approach he honed last summer.

A rapid heart rate and rising internal tension sped Smith up as a freshman at Florida State. Smith’s sojourn to the Cape Cod League left him alone for one of the first times in his baseball career. “Thrown into the fire,” Smith said. So searched for a routine. First: meditate before every game.

“And stick to one approach: driving a nice, low line drive over the second baseman’s head,” Smith said. “Once I put those two together, the game completely slowed down for me and I was able to play the game.”

Smith has a .364 batting average across 384 at-bats since returning from the Cape Cod League. Cubs officials advised Smith to improve pulling the baseball in the air with more backspin, which Smith said has already “clicked with me pretty quickly.”

“I don’t think about being a power hitter,” said Smith, who had 16 extra-base hits in 32 professional games last season. “I just want to make contact. The contact is one of my best tools, so I want to keep that. I’m going to stay the same and, naturally, you’ll lift that ball. I’ve been relying on that same approach — that low line drive — and I’ll get lucky sometimes and they’ll fly out.”

Smith said he knows no one in the Astros’ organization, but his early transition has still been seamless. New Astros infield coach Tony Perezchica has already called Smith to welcome him into the organization and distribute some early defensive advice. Manager Joe Espada and farm director Jacob Buffa have phoned Smith, too.

“That right there is why I’m so excited — because they’re excited for me,” Smith said.

Before last year’s draft, Smith had thought of his two “best options.” Chicago made his first come true by selecting him. Smith’s entire family is Cubs fans, a following led by his grandmother, Patty Thomas. Smith labeled her a “die-hard,” but informing her of the trade went “way better than I thought.”

“The Astros win,” Thomas told her grandson, before reminding him why the team was Smith’s second-best option during the draft.

Smith and his family still live in Lake Worth, Fla., about 30 minutes from the Astros’ spring training complex in West Palm Beach. Extra time with family — and an easier commute to his games — have everyone excited about a situation they never envisioned.

“I thought I was going to be a Cub forever,” he said, “but this opportunity here is the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me.”

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(Photo: Danny Parker / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)