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Haren’s Yield: Greg Smith

In this, the fourth of six profiles of the players arriving in the Dan Haren trade, I’ll profile Greg Smith. Soon to come: Aaron Cunningham and Chris Carter. Already done: Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson and Dana Eveland.

Smith, a polished lefty drafted out of LSU in 2005, features an annoy-the-hitter repertoire, and nothing explodes out of his hand. But that does not mean his MiLB numbers are unimpressive.

His 2006 statistics make you wonder why he’s received little acclaim:

• (AA) Mobile: 5-3 in 12 starts, compiling a 3.36 ERA in 69.2 IP with a k:bb ratio of 62-14
• (AAA) Tucson: 4-2 in 10 starts, compiling a 3.78 ERA in 52.1 IP with a k:bb ration of 34:18

Smith, who turns 24 today, may prove to be similar to the A’s Jason Windsor: a polished college arm who may struggle to bring a strong mound presence but average stuff to the big show.

The “soft-tossing lefty,” ranked as the D-Backs 27th best prospect by Scout.com, is currently slated to join Shane Komine, Windsor and Brad Knox in the (AAA) Sacramento Rivercats rotation; but, look for him to get a long look in spring training. He will likely be considered, alongside newly-acquired Dana Eveland, in the hunt for the A’s suddenly average starting-five.

And donning the MLB uniform come spring won’t be a first for Smith, who impressed with the D-backs during 2007’s Cactus League. After he decided to send Smith to Minor League Camp, big league Mngr. Bob Melvin told MiLB.com:

“He’s a guy who we obviously love, but being a starter, we just don’t have those kind of multiple innings [available in spring games] right now. It might have been a little different had he been a situational guy and we could have got him in there for a couple of hitters, but he needs to get stretched out. When you look at our pitching prospects, especially starters, this is a guy that jumps out at you, and a guy who came out and performed well.”

Baseball America’s Diagnosis:

Smith, 24, a smart college lefty from Louisiana State (sixth round, 2005) missed time with shoulder soreness in 2007, but still managed to go 9-5, 3.54 with 96-32 K-BB in 122 innings at Double- and Triple-A. Like Anderson he tops out around 90 mph, but has exceptional feel for his pitches, which also include a plus curveball and an above-average changeup. Like many athletic lefties, Smith has a strong pickoff move to first base.

ESPN’s Keith Law Offers a Warning:

Smith has a solid-average fastball and a 12-to-6 curve that is his out pitch; he has good control but tends to throw across his body when he needs to pitch to his glove side. His third pitch, his changeup, is below average and he’ll need to improve it (or pick up a splitter) to get right-handed hitters out in the majors.

But Smith did get by in Arizona Fall League, most often jam-packed with good offensive players:

• Smith went 2-2 in 6 starts, compiling a 2.61 ERA in 20.2 IP with a 17:8 (k:bb)
• A’s Exec Billy Owens must have liked what he saw

At 6 feet 2 inches tall, 190 pounds, Smith has good size. But Law won’t be the only analyst to note the importance of a third pitch. For Smith to survive in the bigs as a starter he’ll either have to be as crafty as Jamie Moyer or develop another average to plus pitch. And that’s the biggest reason why Smith, despite already being 24, may be better served spending the 2008 season in SacTown.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 at 5:10 pm and is filed under Sacramento, Prospects, Transactions, Spring Training, Trades. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.