Kevin Smith (born July 4, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

for the Oakland Athletics of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021 with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

High school and college

Smith graduated from

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

East Greenbush, New York East Greenbush is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany. The population was 16,473 at the 2010 census. The word Greenbush is derived from the Dutch ''het groen bosch,'' referring to the pine woods that ori ...

, and later attended the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. He played three seasons as the starting shortstop for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

. In his freshman season, Smith appeared in 66 games and recorded a .273

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 35

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI), and a team-leading 11 stolen bases. As a sophomore, Smith hit .259 with eight home runs and 34 RBI. In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball for the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play thei ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he hit .301 with 12 doubles and two home runs, was a league all-star and named a top prospect in the league by '' Baseball America'', ''Perfect Game'', and D1Baseball.com, and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league's championship series after batting .500 with a home run and three RBI to help Yarmouth–Dennis win the league championship for the third-consecutive season. In his final year with the Terrapins, Smith hit .268 in 54 games played, and added 13 home runs and 48 RBI.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The

selected Smith in the fourth round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed for a $405,100 signing bonus, and was assigned to the

Bluefield Blue Jays The Bluefield Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. The team played their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park, a hist ...

. In 61 games for Bluefield, Smith hit .271 with eight home runs, 43 RBI, and nine stolen bases. In 2018, he played for both the Class-A

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lans ...

and the Advanced-A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpar ...

, slashing a combined .302/.358/.528 with 25 home runs, 93 RBI, and 29 stolen bases in 129 games. Smith played the 2019 season entirely with the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

, hitting .209 with 19 home runs, 61 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. Following the season he played in 18 games for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco Gia ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

. He did not play professional baseball in 2020, as the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

led to the cancellation of the minor league season. In 2021, Smith was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, where he hit .286 with a team-leading 19 home runs and 63 RBI prior to being called up. He earned the 2021 Stan Barron Most Valuable Player Award, an award for Bisons team MVP, as voted on by his teammates.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 18, 2021, the Blue Jays selected Smith's contract and called him up to the major leagues. On August 29, Smith hit his first career home run off of Detroit Tigers starter Matthew Boyd.

Oakland Athletics

On March 16, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Smith, Gunnar Hoglund,

Zach Logue Zach Michael Logue (born April 23, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Oakland Athletics. Amateur career Logue attended Archbishop Moe ...

, and

Kirby Snead William Kirby Snead (born October 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2021 for the Toronto Blue Jays and also played for the Oakland Athletics. Amateur caree ...

to the Oakland Athletics for

Matt Chapman Matthew James Chapman (born April 28, 1993) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics. Chapman made his MLB debut with Oakland in ...

. Smith spent the bulk of the year with the Triple-A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada ...

, also appearing in 47 games for Oakland. In 139 at-bats, he hit .180/.216/.302 with two home runs, 13 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. Smith was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas to begin the 2023 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kevin 1996 births Living people Baseball players from New York (state) Bluefield Blue Jays players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dunedin Blue Jays players category:Lansing Lugnuts players Major League Baseball shortstops Maryland Terrapins baseball players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Oakland Athletics players Scottsdale Scorpions players Sportspeople from Troy, New York Toronto Blue Jays players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players