Houston Astros Farm System Ranking Remains Near Bottom of Majors

The Houston Astros have a lot of work to do when it comes to getting their farm system back on track.

Smokies infielder Cam Smith (22) hits a ball during the last regular season home game at the Tennessee Smokies Stadium on Sunday, September 15, 2024 in Kodak, Tenn. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Houston Astros prospect Cam Smith went from an undrafted player in high school, to a first-round pick after college. He was then traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Astros in the Kyle Tucker trade. Long term, it looks like a good trade for the Astros.

Smith made it to the Top 100 prospect list. However, he is the only shining star of the Astros' farm system, which Keith Law of The Athletic ranked as the 29th best farm system in the major leagues. Quite a dubious honor since there are only 30 teams in the league. Smith is the only Astros' propsect that made the list.

Smith, drew some interest as a prep star from Florida, was not selected in the draft coming out of high school due to the fact he was already 19 years old and scouts thought he was not ready. He went to Florida State and led them to the College World Series last season. He finally blossomed into a solid third baseman who was drafted 14th by the Cubs in the first round.

He signed a contract with the Cubs for $5,070,700. He rewarded the Cubs by hitting a home run in six consecutive games in Single-A and then went deep in the Double-A Southern League playoffs.

Smith hit .313 with seven dingers and a 1.005 OPS in 32 games between Single-A and Double-A. He also cut down on his strikeouts which plagued him early in his collegiate career with the Seminoles.

Shortly thereafter he was traded to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker trade in December.

Smith has raw power, but hits too many balls on the ground which result in outs. He has the ability to generate power from the right side of the plate, but does not put the ball in the air. His speed is not what you would want on the base paths for a guy that hits a lot of ground balls. Therefore, the Astros are going to need to work on his swing in Spring Training and get him to elevate the ball coming off the barrel of the bat.

Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said it was tough to part with Smith, but it was just too good a deal to pass up to get a player of Tucker's ability.

Law credits the dismal performance of the Astros in the draft process left them with a weak farm system and very little in the cupboard. The Astros wasted a lot of picks on depth or guys Law refers to as "project guys" who did not pan out. They also drafted a lot of guys who were projected as fifth day pitching prospects, but they flamed out before they got going.

The Astros also traded away solid prospects like Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido, Chayce McDermott and Drew Gilbert which took away a lot of the fanfare and excitement of growing a farm system.