Breaking down the Cubs prospects in the Kyle Tucker trade
Less than a week after the blockbuster which saw Garrett Crochet traded from the White Sox to the Red Sox the Cubs and Astros completed a deal which saw multitime all star Kyle Tucker traded to the Northside of Chicago. Unlike the Crochet trade, Cam Smith was the only prospect in the MLB top 100 moved in the deal (79th overall per MLB Pipeline). Similar to my article on the Crochet trade I’ll be taking a look at the hobby impact specifically on Cam Smith.
Cam Smith 3B
Cam Smith enjoyed another solid season at Florida State before being drafted thirteen overall in the 2025 draft. Unlike some of the players drafted ahead of him, Smith’s defensive position is much more settled in pro ball. He pairs a strong arm with range and should continue to handle third base as he moves through the minors. Also unlike the players drafted ahead of him, Smith’s offensive profile projects more strongly as a hit over power type of player as opposed to his more well rounding hitting peers. He did show improved exit velocities during his draft year and if that translates into more game power he could end up being a steal both for his big league team and for collectors. While a tier below players drafted ahead of him such as Caglianone and Bazzana, he still represented an above average chase in Bowman Draft.
Smith became the second player drafted in 2024 to be traded during the offseason. Smith was already a very good chase in Bowman Draft 2024 with base autos ranging in sale price from $100-115 per 130 point. One aspect of this trade that’s harder to predict is how this impacts Smith’s MLB debut and when he might see the post call up bump in value. Most of the time when a team trades an all star like Tucker they tend to be at the beginning or in the middle of a long rebuild but the Astros seem to want to try to be competitive. If that's the case they may wait to call up Smith delaying his call up value bump for collectors. Also third baseman Isaac Paredes was part of the trade return for Houston creating a positional road block for Smith. On a positive note for Astros collectors, Smith will immediately slot in as the best prospect in the Astros system. Overall I suspect this trade will end up being neutral in terms of Smith’s hobby value. I still like Smith as a low risk buy with potentially higher reward for collectors that aren't looking to shop at the top of the prospect market in Bowman Draft 2024.
