Meet The (Justin) Smoak Monster

Meet the latest power hitting youngster, Justin Smoak

Rangers’ fans have been talking about Justin Smoak since the day the Rangers took Smoak with the 11th pick in the 2008 draft. Few have ever seen him in person nonetheless seen him play, but that will change moving forward.

Last Friday Smoak made his well anticipated major league debut. He went 0-2 with 2 walks.

Chris Davis, whom many saw as the guy simply keeping first base warm until Smoak was ready to come up, has struggled tremendously. Davis hit a measly .188 in 15 games, with just one RBI and a team-high 17 strikeouts in 48 at-bats. A supposed power hitter, Davis has yet to hit one long ball.

The fans have gotten their wish, and should become accustomed to seeing Smoak at first base for the rest of the season. The Rangers have optioned Davis to triple A, and Ron Washington has said that he has no intention of sitting Smoak on the bench.

“He will be our regular first baseman,” Washington said. “I told him to be himself, have some fun, enjoy it. He’s certainly not our savior.”

While Davis was struggling to find his stroke, Smoak lit up the stat sheet for Oklahoma City. He was hitting .300 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs in 15 games. More importantly, Smoak walked 16 times with only 8 strikeouts. He has proven to be a weapon from both sides of the plate, something that will be very important for the Rangers moving forward, hitting .321 from the left side and .273 from the right.

“I’ve got to be myself and just go out and play,” Smoak said this weekend. “I’m not going to go out there and hit a home run every time at the plate. Hopefully I will walk more than I strikeout, something I have been doing this year. I try to be myself in the field, not to do too much and see where it takes me.”

Justin Smoak has been highly regarded as a top project since he joined the Rangers’ organization. In the top-20 in all preseason rankings for prospects, Smoak hit .290 with 12 home runs and 57 RBIs across 3 stops last season. In 471 plate appearances last year, Smoak stuck out 81 times while taking 75 walks.

As a switch-hitting first baseman, Smoak is undoubtedly going to be compared to the Yankees All-Star Mark Teixeira. Smoak early on has hit righties better than lefties, and has shown an eye at the plate much like Teixeira, and has the plate discipline as well. He can spray the ball in all directions, and although his power hasn’t been as expected, Smoak is still projected to be a 30-35/season home run guy.

The Angels and Mariners have blown past the Rangers, and calling up Smoak might simply be seen as making a change rather than a punishment for Davis. Fans and fantasy owners with take either explanation, just as long as Smoak is the every day first baseman.

The Rangers are hitting .235 as a team, and if you take away Nelson Cruz (7 home runs), the rest of the team has hit only 4 home runs.

Chris Davis’s professional career has been a roller coaster to say the least. In his rookie season in 2008, Davis impressed fans with 17 home runs in 80 games. Yet 2009 started out the same way it has this year. Davis was sent down to the minors last year as well, and when he was called up last August he improved some.

One scout said this about Davis. “He has one of the worst combinations of poor plate discipline and poor contact skills in the league.” Until he rectifies this problem, Davis shouldn’t be trusted to live up to the potential some see for him.

So for the time being, the Rangers are hoping that where there is Smoak, there is fire.

Jay Maguire

Meet the latest power hitting youngster, Justin Smoak April 26, 2010 – Jay Maguire Rangers’ fans have been talking about Justin Smoak since the day the Rangers took Smoak with the 11th pick in the 2008 draft. Few have ever seen him in person nonetheless seen him play, but that will change moving forward. Last [...]