With Christian Walker’s Status Uncertain, Could Cam Smith Crack Astros’ Opening Day Roster?
With Christian Walker’s Status Uncertain, Could Cam Smith Crack Astros’ Opening Day Roster?
Blog Article
ternoon opened myriad possibilities for general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada, two men who’ve taken clear stances on promoting prospects.
The severity of Walker’s injury is unclear, but Espada told reporters Thursday that the 34-year-old first baseman will travel to Houston for an MRI. The proximity to Opening Day, coupled with Walker’s injury history — he missed more than a month of games last season with a left oblique strain — must prompt legitimate concern within the organization. Even if imaging is favorable, it’s difficult to envision Walker immediately resuming a full spring-training workload.
Enough depth exists in camp for the Astros to absorb Walker’s potential absence without putting Smith on the Opening Day roster. Jon Singleton could become the primary first baseman or perhaps form a platoon with Zach Dezenzo, whose path to a roster spot would be wide open if Walker must miss time. Backup catcher Victor Caratini can play first, too.
Smith’s standout performance across the first three weeks of spring training must at least merit consideration. Asked Wednesday by Foul Territory to discuss one positive and negative coming from major-league spring training, Brown brought up Smith without prompt.
“The most exciting thing right now has been for me to watch Cam Smith and watch him develop. … He’s really creating a lot of conversation,” Brown said.
Brown is prone to promoting prospects at breakneck speed. Last season, he rushed pitcher Jake Bloss to the major leagues after just 44 2/3 Double-A innings. Dezenzo made his big-league debut after 53 plate appearances in Triple A.
Smith just turned 22 in February. He has taken 134 professional plate appearances — and just 20 above High A. That he is performing well in Grapefruit League games is a positive, but statistics for any players in exhibition games can be misleading.
Brown has been a scout his entire baseball life. Evaluating a player beyond boxscores is what has elevated him within the game. Few are more equipped to determine if Smith is ready to handle the rigors of major-league life than Brown, a draft guru who may have another reason to consider carrying Smith on Opening Day.
Because he is listed on the required top-100 lists compiled by outside publications, Smith is eligible for MLB’s Prospect Promotion Incentive program. Putting him on the Opening Day roster would increase the chances that Houston receives another early-round pick in a future draft — crucial for its suspect farm system.
Teams receive a compensation pick if a PPI-eligible player accrues a full year of service time as a rookie and either wins his league’s Rookie of the Year award or finishes in the top three of MVP or Cy Young Award voting. If eligible players accrue a full year of service time but don’t factor in those awards, players still retain their PPI eligibility for either three years or until they reach arbitration eligibility.
A full year of service time is 172 days, so even calling Smith up as early as May would eliminate any possibility of procuring the draft pick. Rookies cannot exceed 60 days of service time and retain PPI eligibility, but those who remain in the major leagues for fewer than 60 days can remain eligible.