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AAP: Kevan Smith


OilCan
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http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m...th_kevan00.html

 

Class:

Senior

Hometown:

Cranberry Township, Pa.

High School:

Seneca Valley

Height / Weight:

6-4 / 240

Position:

C

B/T:

R/R

 

http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m.../060711aaa.html

 

PITTSBURGH—Pitt senior Kevan Smith and redshirt-sophomore Ray Black were drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 MLB draft on Tuesday. Smith was selected by the Chicago White Sox with the 231st overall pick while Black was taken six picks later (237th) by the San Francisco Giants.

 

Smith becomes the seventh highest draft pick to come out of Pitt while Black ranks eighth.

 

Smith, an All-BIG EAST first-team selection in 2010 and 2011 tied all league hitters with a .396 batting average during the 2011 regular season. A football quarterback turned star catcher, Smith led the conference in runs scored (56) while adding eight home runs and 52 RBI in the regular season. He also posted a .979 fielding percentage and ranks 21st among NCAA leaders in slugging percentage (.675) and 22nd in overall batting average (.397).

 

“Kevan may have been one of the most talented players in the draft,” head coach Joe Jordano said. “For a senior to be drafted in the 7th round, it proves his value and his skill set. We all very much look forward to watching his professional career. He was an integral part of our team and I am very happy he decided to play baseball a few years ago. He has worked very hard and I believe his best years are ahead of him.”

 

The 6-3 Cranberry Twp. native garnered several additional honors throughout the 2011 season. On April 11, Smith was named BIG EAST Player of the Week and made the league honor roll later in the season. Prior to the season, Smith was named by College Baseball 360 as one of the “11 Catchers to Watch in 2011.”

 

In his three seasons on the diamond, Smith was all over the charts on Pitt’s all-time leaders lists. His .375 career batting average ranks fifth all time, while he ranks eighth in career total bases (313) and 10th in career RBI (123).

 

In 2010, Smith collected the third most hits by a Panther in school history with 84 and followed with 83 in 2011.

 

While excelling during the regular season, Smith is one of the all-time BIG EAST Tournament hitters. In three seasons, Smith has combined to bat .552 (16-for-29) in championship play. His three home runs at this year’s Championships were tops among all sluggers. The clutch performances earned Smith BIG EAST All-Tournament honors in both 2010 and 2011.

 

 

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburgh...e/s_677382.html

Pitt's Smith makes move to diamond work

By Dave Mackall, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Kevan Smith was facing a big decision.

 

Should he remain with the Pitt football team or try his hand at baseball?

 

He felt he was capable of performing at a high level in both sports. But after some intense soul-searching and a nudge from Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt, Smith opted to move on and try his luck with the Panthers' baseball team.

 

So far, it's worked out well for the former Seneca Valley multi-sport star, who came to the Big East school on a football scholarship and played quarterback mainly in a backup role during his first two seasons.

 

"I wanted to play both, and I told coach Wannstedt I'd do anything to remain on my football scholarship," Smith said. "I said I'd play special teams and long-snapper, anything he wanted. I was hoping he'd go along with it, but he told me I had to make a decision."

 

It might turn out to be a no-brainer that Smith made the switch in sports.

 

As a platoon catcher/DH for the Pitt baseball team (26-10), ranked No. 24 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper weekly poll, Smith is enjoying his redshirt junior season.

 

"He's doing great," Pitt coach Joe Jordano said. "He'll benefit from getting another year under his belt. He has to continue to improve his defensive skills. He's got the arm strength, obviously. As he continues to develop as a baseball player, he's got a chance to play at the next level."

 

 

 

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Current story on Kevan:

http://www2.tricities.com/sports/2011/jun/...all-ar-1118237/

 

BRISTOL, Va. – Kevan Smith signed autographs and greeted fans on Saturday night during the annual “Meet the Sox” festivities at DeVault Stadium.

 

It’s a long way from where the Pennsylvania native was three years ago.

 

Back in 2008, he was a quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh. Film study, lengthy playbooks and reading defenses were priorities.

 

But he eventually gave up football to focus on another sport. The result?

 

Smith’s now a power-hitting catcher and potential prospect in the Chicago White Sox minor league system and will begin his pro career with the Bristol White Sox of the rookie-level Appalachian League.

 

“It’s actually awesome,” Smith said. “Whenever I tell people I’m going to work, I’m going to do something I love to do. I’ve connected great with this organization and this team. The guys are great and I’m having a great experience so far.”

 

He hasn’t completely forgotten his time directing the offense of the Pittsburgh Panthers, however.

 

“[Football] was a great experience for me and I got to play in some big games like at Notre Dame and Michigan State,” Smith said. “I don’t regret the decision at all, but now I’m here playing the sport I think I should have been playing.”

 

Smith actually started three games under center during his collegiate football career. He threw for 202 yards and a touchdown in his first start against Grambling in 2007 and had plenty of other unforgettable moments.

 

“It was nuts,” Smith said. “I went from playing in front of a thousand people in high school to walking out as a freshman against Michigan State at East Lansing in front of like 85,000 people and they were doing like the 300 Spartan chants at you.

 

“It was wild. Football obviously matured me as an athlete and as a person. It helped me get through a lot of adversity and stuff, and I carry a lot of that over to baseball.”

 

The move has definitely paid off. He hit .397 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs during his final season at Pitt this past spring and was an All-Big East Conference selection.

 

Chicago selected him in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft earlier this month.

 

“I’m not really worried about where he was drafted. I just go on his character and from what I’ve known, he’s a super nice kid,” said Bristol manager Pete Rose Jr. “I’m sure his leadership qualities are great from being a quarterback.”

 

Raw talent is the word used in most scouting reports to describe Smith, who took a few seasons off from baseball while fulfilling his QB duties.

 

“I think I have a lot of untapped ability to open up and I think that’s what a lot of guys liked about me,” Smith said. “I think there’s a lot of upside and I’m excited to get working with my coaches and everything and get the ball rolling and focus 110 percent on baseball and see where it takes me.”

 

Trading in touchdown passes for base hits is a decision he’s sticking with too.

 

“Definitely, no regrets,” Smith said.

 

 

 

thayes@bristolnews.com | Twitter:@Hayes_BHCSports | (276) 645-2570]

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
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John Sickels has posted a "Who should be considered for the short season player of the year."

 

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/9/12/2...ogin=1315854695

 

Here's what I said:

 

Through two Rookie levels, the seventh round pick from 2011 was .355/.448/.626/1,073 in 56 games. Out of 72 hits, 34 were extra base hits, 9 of them were HR. 48 RBI.

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...&pid=607345

 

 

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  • 6 months later...

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...lb&c_id=mlb

 

Catcher Kevan Smith, taken in the seventh round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, hit .355 between stops at Bristol and Great Falls with nine homers and 48 RBIs. He's part of a talented young core of catchers for the team, including Josh Phegley (Charlotte) and Michael Blanke (Winston-Salem).

 

Kevan is starting at Kanny.

 

http://www.southsidesox.com/2012/4/3/29118...part-one-a-ball

 

C Kevan Smith will be looking to replicate his short season success from last year. And, hopefully, Smith will do better than 2010's catching phenom, Michael Blanke, who followed up his .329/.400/.508 Great Falls line with a .246/.306/.371 line across both A ball clubs. If it's any solace, Smith's numbers from Great Falls and Bristol were better than Blanke's: .355/.448/.626.
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QUOTE (OilCan @ Sep 12, 2011 -> 02:20 PM)
John Sickels has posted a "Who should be considered for the short season player of the year."

 

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/9/12/2...ogin=1315854695

 

Here's what I said:

 

Through two Rookie levels, the seventh round pick from 2011 was .355/.448/.626/1,073 in 56 games. Out of 72 hits, 34 were extra base hits, 9 of them were HR. 48 RBI.

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...&pid=607345

 

 

 

Follow up from Sickels' writing on Short Season POTYs

Kevan Smith, C, White Sox: Seventh round pick in 2011 from University of Pittsburgh, annihilated short-season pitching at Bristol (Appy League, .396/.482/.740) and Great Falls (Pioneer League, .318/.417/.523). Drew 28 walks against just 30 strikeouts in 203 at-bats. Power bat and physical strength are well-respected, but he needs more polish with defense, and at age 23 he needs to show this wasn't just a fluke generated against younger competition.

 

So that teaches me to take the HR rate with a grain of salt due to the age competition. Let's see what Smith does for the remainder of the year.

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Last 10 games for Kevan Smith.

 

.410/.500/.718/1.218!!!

 

16 hits, 15 runs scored and 16 RBIs in his last 10. 6 walks and only 4 strikeouts. Has hit 2 HRs during that span, raising his season total to 3.

 

Average up to .284.

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QUOTE (OilCan @ Jun 5, 2012 -> 06:18 PM)
Last 10 games for Kevan Smith.

 

.410/.500/.718/1.218!!!

 

16 hits, 15 runs scored and 16 RBIs in his last 10. 6 walks and only 4 strikeouts. Has hit 2 HRs during that span, raising his season total to 3.

 

Average up to .284.

 

He is also getting a trip to the Sally All-Star game.

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I think I should update this guy.

He has been promoted to WS.

 

Combined A Stats:

 

.279/.338/.439/.777

He's only played 5 games for the Dash, so it's not enough to make assumptions of his promotion just yet.

 

He does have 9 HRs this year which is good, 7 of them were at Kanny.

 

From Seedlings to Stars - Another view of Kevan.

 

Notes – From April through June, Smith kept his BABIP remarkably consistent going from 0.346 to 0.338 to 0.347 but despite that particular statistical similarity his offensive production took off in June. It was in that month that he turned in an OPS of 0.923 which signified a big step forward over the 0.701 and 0.767 in April and May. The root cause of his improvement last month can be found in the gains he made in his plate discipline and approach. In the season’s first two months combined, Smith drew 11 walks and struck out 40 times. By contrast he drew 10 walks and went down on strikes just 9 times in the month of June.

 

Unfortunately July has proven to be tougher sledding for the young catcher as he’s hit just 0.244/.276/.427 this month (0.703 OPS). His BABIP in 19 July games is 0.254 and his BB% has fallen back into the 4-5% range where it has been outside of the month of June when it was a very strong 14.1%. The current month has not been a total loss however as Smith’s Isolated Power (Iso) is at a single month best 0.183 and 2 of his 7 HR on the year have come in his last four games.

 

Of course in all of this discussion we have to remember that he is a catcher which makes his offensive performance thus far in 2012 all the more impressive. Sure, it can’t hold a candle to what he did in rookie ball last season, and he is a bit old for his current level having just turned 24 about 3 weeks ago but I continue to be a big fan.

Edited by OilCan
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  • 7 months later...
  • 3 months later...

Kevan is still playing at High A Winston Salem...

This year, he's played 72 games, 274 ABs, and has the following line:

 

.255/.346/.431/.777

70 hits, 18 2bs, 3 triples, 8 HRs.

53 RBIs and 47 runs scored.

42 strikeouts and 30 walks.

 

Not bad. Little bit on the old regarding Age-to-Level at 25, but seeing that he was raw when he was drafted after a QB career at Pitt, he's learning slowly and developing.

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