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How Astros’ newest additions stole the spotlight against New York

How Astros’ newest additions stole the spotlight against New York
Top prospect Cam Smith put on a show! Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images.

The Astros defeated the Mets 8-5 on Tuesday, in a game that featured several of the club's biggest offseason additions, along with two of their top three prospects (Cam Smith, Brice Matthews).

Below are my brief notes from the game:

Ronel Blanco (1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 K) started the game and allowed 3 runs, one of which was a solo home run to Jose Siri. He allowed a lot of contact, but the changeup looked good, and it's his first appearance of the spring.

Hayden Wesneski (2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K) surrendered a solo homer to Brett Baty. He mixed in a curveball to lefties. Wesneski settled down in his second inning.

Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats. It may take a while to break these free swinging habits.

Isaac Paredes (0-2, 1 R) worked a full count and walked in his first at-bat. His reputation for being a patient hitter showed.

Christian Walker (1-1, 2B, BB, 2 R) hit a 400-foot double to center on a full count. He also had a nice catch in foul territory and a good scoop.

Victor Caratini (2-3, 2 R) blasted a homer to right field. He made up for a throwing error early in the game.

Dubon (0-3) out on the first pitch in his second at-bat. Only saw two pitches before popping out in his third at-bat. The free swinging continues.

McCormick (0-2, RBI, HBP) and Jake Meyers (0-3) both struck out vs. Chris Devenski. At least McCormick worked a deeper count in this at-bat. Meyers did hit a ball to the warning track in his first trip to the plate. So there's something.

Bennett Sousa (1IP, 1 BB, 0 R) worked out of a jam, Jon Singleton with a good scoop to end the inning. Looks like Sousa's velocity is up a bit.

Brice Matthews (0-1, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K) walked and struck out. We'll see if he can improve against breaking balls. He looked comfortable at second base.

Cam Smith (2-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR) hammered a first pitch fastball to right field for his first home run.

In his second at-bat, he took a slider and a curve. Then hit another homer off a fastball to right center. Impressive.

Forrest Whitley (1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2K) struck out the final batter with a 97 MPH fastball. He looks good. I can see why the Astros are cautiously optimistic.


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A whole new ballgame. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

As of 9:42 Central Daylight Saving Time Friday night, the Astros (and all other baseball players) are officially the Boys of Summer, officially so far as the season is concerned anyway. When the summer solstice arrived last year the Astros were nine games off the lead in the American League West. So in addressing the rhetorical axiom “what a difference a year makes,” the difference in the Astros’ case is a whopping 14 games as they start the weekend atop their division by five games. At this point in the season last year the Astros’ record in one-run games was a brutal 5-14. In 2025 they are 13-7 in games decided by the narrowest of margins.

That the Astros are just 4-5 in road games against the two worst teams in the American League is no big deal, other than that every game counts in the standings. Still, just as was losing two out of three at the pathetic White Sox earlier this season, it is no doubt disappointing to the Astros to have only gotten a split of their four-game set with the Athletics. The A’s had gone 9-28 in their last 37 games before the Astros arrived in West Sacramento. The former-Oaklanders took the first game and the finale, as the Astros’ offense played bi-polar ball over the four nights. Two stat-padding explosion games that totaled 24 runs and 35 hits were bookended by a puny one-run output Monday and Thursday’s 5-4 10-inning loss. Baseball happens. Nevertheless, as the Astros open their weekend set versus the Angels, they have gone 17-7 over their last 24 games to forge their five-game division lead.

The New York Yankees’ offense has been by a healthy margin the best attack in the American League so far this season. The reigning AL champions snapped a six-game losing streak Thursday. The Yankees mustered a total of six runs over those six losses, including being shutout in three consecutive games. The baseball season is the defining “it’s a marathon not a sprint” sport. With 162 games on the schedule, combined with the fact that the gap in winning percentage between the best teams and the worst teams is smaller than in any other sport, making much about a series, or week or two of games is misguided, apart from all the results mattering.

The future is now

Without context, statistics can tell very misleading stories. Cam Smith is having a fine rookie season and has the looks of a guy who can blossom into a bonafide star and be an Astro mainstay into the 2030s. But it’s silliness that has anyone talking about the big month of June he’s having. Superficially, sure, going into Thursday’s game Smith’s stat line for the month read a .321 batting average and .874 OPS. Alas, that was mostly about Smith’s two monster games in the consecutive routs of the Athletics. Over those two games Cam went seven for nine with two home runs and two doubles. Over the other 14 games he’s played this month Smith is batting .213 with an OPS below .540.

Cam Smith is a long-term contender for best acquisition of Dana Brown’s tenure as General Manager. If his career was a single game Smith is still in the first inning, but if his career was a stock it’s a buy and hold. If the Astros were for some reason forced to part with all but two players in the organization, I think the two they would hold on to are Smith and Hunter Brown. Jeremy Pena would be another strong candidate, but he turns 28 in September and is two seasons from free agency (unless the rules change in the next collective bargaining agreement). Smith is 22 and under Astros’ control for another five seasons, he’s not even presently eligible for salary arbitration until the 2028 season. Brown turns 27 in August and is currently ineligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.

Angels in the outfield

Hunter Brown pitches opposite Yusei Kikuchi Friday night. Kikuchi was Dana Brown’s big in-season move last season, and Kikuchi was excellent with the Astros which set up to get the three-year 63 million dollar deal he landed with the Halos. After a slow start to his season Kikuchi has been outstanding the past month and a half, with a 2.28 earned run average over his last nine starts. Brown’s 1.88 season ERA is second-best in the big leagues among pitchers with the innings pitched to qualify in the category. Only Pirates’ stud Paul Skenes has a better mark, barely so at 1.85.

Kikuchi was a stellar rental who helped the Astros stretch their consecutive postseasons streak to eight. There was an absurd amount of vitriol over what Dana Brown gave up for him. Joey Loperfido is 26 years old and having a middling season at AAA. Will Wagner is 26 years old and back in the minors after batting .186 with the Blue Jays. Jake Bloss is the one guy who maaaaaybe some day the Astros wish they still had. Bloss is out into 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!

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