Smith went 1-for-1 with a solo home run in Saturday's 11-0 win over the A's.

EDGE Analysis

Despite starting the game on the bench for the first time this season, Smith put the finishing touches on Houston's blowout victory, launching his second homer of the year off Luis Medina in the eighth after entering the game as a defensive replacement the inning prior. The 23-year-old Smith has been swinging the bat well, logging at least one hit in his last five games. He's gone 6-for-15 with three extra-base hits in that span.

Smith isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith will head to the bench for the first time this season after collecting hits in five of his last six games. Joey Loperfido will replace him in right field and bat sixth.

Smith went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 9-2 win over the Red Sox.

EDGE Analysis

Smith took Jovani Moran deep in the seventh inning for his first home run of the season. Smith entered play Tuesday with just two hits in 21 trips to the plate, but he's now reached base five times over the last two games and has drawn five walks in six games this season after walking just 8.7 percent of the time in 2025. Smith is competing for at-bats with Jake Meyers, Joey Loperfido and Brice Matthews in the Houston outfield, but the Astros want Smith to take hold of right field.

Smith went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's Grapefruit League matchup against the Nationals.

EDGE Analysis

Smith opened the scoring Sunday with a 440-foot blast off Orlando Ribalta, his first long ball this spring. After going 2-for-13 in his first six Grapefruit League contests, Smith has gone 3-for-6 with a pair of extra-base hits in his last two games. It's certainly a positive sign for the 23-year-old, as he looks to claim a spot on Houston's Opening Day roster.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that Smith will play some center field during spring training, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith learned right field on the fly last season and took surprisingly well to it, so the Astros will push him further to see if he can learn a more demanding position. Right field still represents Smith's best path to a starting job, but more opportunities could be afforded if he shows he can adequately handle center field. Smith slashed .236/.312/.358 with nine home runs and a 27.8 percent strikeout rate across 134 games during his rookie season.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Wednesday that Smith could begin next season at Triple-A Sugar Land "if he hasn't turned the corner," Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Brown remains high on Smith's potential, saying he "could be a star one day," but added that "we're going to need him to be more consistent." Smith forced his way onto the Astros' Opening Day roster with a huge showing in spring training, but he went on to slash just .236/.312/.358 with nine home runs and a 27.8 percent strikeout rate across 134 contests. The rookie started only six of the Astros' final 20 games, including just two of their final 16 tilts versus right-handed pitching. Smith did play a surprisingly solid right field, a position he had never manned before. Slated to turn 23 in February, Smith should enter spring training with a chance to win a starting job, but some seasoning in the minors might not be the worst thing for him and the Astros. The 2024 first-round pick has logged just 32 games and 134 plate appearances at the minor-league level.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Sunday against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Smith has fallen into a short-side platoon, with Sunday marking his first start in Houston's last five games. He homered for the first time since Aug. 24 and for only the second time since June 28. While he's lost playing time and hasn't delivered much fantasy-relevant production of late, Smith has held his own with a 92 wRC+ across 473 plate appearances in his age-22 season.

Smith went 2-for-4 with two runs scored Monday against the Angels.

EDGE Analysis

Smith performed poorly in August, hitting only .147 across 22 games and 68 at-bats. His performance Monday marked his first multi-hit game since Aug. 11, a span of 12 starts. Smith has started to lose playing time against right-handed pitching and that will likely continue unless he can get back on track at the plate.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Rockies.

EDGE Analysis

Smith has struggled at the plate recently, entering Wednesday's contest hitless with eight strikeouts in his last 16 at-bats. While the 22-year-old only notched one hit Wednesday, it was a roundtripper. The long ball was Smith's first in 171 plate appearances, a streak that dates back to June 29. Smith is slashing .242/.311/.364 with eight home runs in 437 plate appearances this season.

Smith is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

EDGE Analysis

The Astros are holding Smith out of the lineup for a third straight matchup with a right-handed starter (Tanner Gordon), with the rookie's drop in playing time coming while he's slashing just .145/.203/.182 in August. Even if Smith is able to show improvement at the dish in his future starts, he may not get the chance to reclaim a full-time role over the final five weeks of the season after Houston reinstated Yordan Alvarez (hand) from the injured list Tuesday to make their corner-outfield ranks more crowded.