Justin Smoak

Justin Kyle Smoak (born December 5, 1986 in Goose Creek, South Carolina) is an American professional baseball player. Smoak graduated from Stratford High School in 2005 and went on to play college baseball for the South Carolina Gamecocks. After his junior year, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2008 MLB Draft on June 5, 2008 as the eleventh overall selection. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2008/drafttracker.jsp mlb.com draft tracker] ]

High School Career

Smoak played four years of varsity high school baseball under coach John Chaleus. [http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/smoak_justin00.html gamecocksonline.com] ] It wasn't until his junior year in high school that scouts began to notice his talent because they were originally scouting his teammate and friend, Matt Wieters. [ [http://www.thestate.com/gamecocks/story/424977.html thestate.com] ] However, Smoak soon made his presence known among scouts. He was named by ABCA, "Baseball America", and Collegiate Baseball as a 2005 high school All-American. He was also one of 36 high school players in the nation to play in the 2005 high school All-American baseball game, named South Carolina AAAA Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005, named co-Mr. Baseball for 2005 in South Carolina (alongside teammate Reese Havens), made the 2004 and 2005 South Carolina AAAA All-State team, and a member of the 2005 South Carolina AAAA state championship team while with the Stratford Knights. He was initially drafted by the Oakland Athletics as a sixteenth-round pick in 2005 upon graduation [http://news.yahoo.com/s/sn/20080531/sp_sn/mlbdraftpreviewqawithsouthcarolinasjustinsmoak yahoo.com MLB draft preview] ] , but deferred and went to the University of South Carolina because "it felt like the place to be. . .".

College Career

In his three years playing for South Carolina, Smoak consistently put up big numbers. After batting .303 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI, Smoak earned Freshman All-American honors. [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/news/2008/266273.html baseballamerica.com] ] He followed up with a .315 batting average, 22 home runs, and 72 RBI in his sophomore year, good enough to be tabbed as a third-team All-American. For his junior year, Smoak batted .383, with 23 home runs and 72 RBI.. Smoak is South Carolina's all-time home run king with 62, breaking Hank Small's record of 48, which stood for over 30 years. Smoak is also South Carolina's career leader in RBIs and walks.

Smoak had also been named a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award in 2007 and 2008. [ [http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stories/052008adj.html CSTV.com] ]

Cape Cod League and Team USA stints

In the summer of 2006, Smoak played for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He led all hitters with 11 home runs, a .565 slugging percentage, and 21 extra-base hits, [ [http://www.capecodbaseball.org/Weekly/Week2006/ThisWeek/thisweek_Awards_MVP.htm capecodbaseball.org] ] en route to the MVP award.

In the summer of 2007, Smoak was a representative for Team USA. During the 2007 Pan American Games, Smoak struggled, hitting .190 for the tournament. He won a silver medal there, when his team lost to Cuba in the finals. Later, he competed with Team USA again in the 2007 World Port Tournament. However, he didn't fare much better, as he finished with a .208 average, although he did lead the tournament with three doubles. In all, Smoak hit .223 and had a .380 slugging percentage for Team USA over the summer. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Justin_Smoak baseball-reference.com] ]

couting Report

Smoak was touted, early and often, by scouts as one of the best offensive first basemen in the 2008 draft. [http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2008/reports_popup.jsp?popup=yes&content=smoak mlb.com draft preview] ] [ [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/early-draft-preview/2008/265576.html baseball-america 2008 draft preview] ] They were even drawing comparisons between himself, Mark Teixeira, and Chipper Jones; Smoak found it flattering that scouts compared his swing to both Teixeira and Jones. [ [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/060608dnsporangersdraft.299ec7c.html dallasnews.com] ] Baseball America wrote that as a first baseman, Smoak had "Gold Glove-caliber actions and soft hands", as well as "advanced footwork and instincts at first base", though they wrote that he had adequate arm strength. Nonetheless, several scouting reports wrote that his biggest strength was his ability to hit for both power and average on both sides of the plate.

MLB draft

Smoak was considered to have been as high as a top-5 pick in the 2008 draft. However, he slipped out of the top-10, and the Texas Rangers picked him with the eleventh selection in the draft. USA Today wrote that the Rangers "getting Smoak at No. 11 may be the best value pick of the first round." [ [http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=mlb&id=4956 usatoday.com] ] He was the Rangers' first overall pick, as well as the first player from the University of South Carolina to be drafted in 2008.

College

[ [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Justin-Smoak.shtml College Statistics] ] small|small|Statistics through the 2007 collegiate baseball season.

References