Laurila: An Astros prospect overcomes adversity times three
From SABR member David Laurila at FanGraphs on June 28, 2016:
Ben Smith has a 21.21 ERA in three appearances for the Tri-City Valley Cats. All told, the 23-year-old southpaw has allowed 19 base-runners and 15 runs in 4.2 innings for Houston’s short-season affiliate.
There’s a lot more to his story than numbers.
Smith will be watching this week’s College World Series with interest. The school out of which he was drafted in 2014, Coastal Carolina, is a surprise participant in the championship round. Several of the Chanticleers are former teammates, and he expects to be “sneaking into the locker room a couple of times” each night to follow their fairy-tale quest for a title.
The fact that the lanky left-hander is playing baseball is a real-life success story of its own.
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/an-astros-prospect-overcomes-adversity-times-three/
Originally published: June 29, 2016. Last Updated: June 29, 2016.