Justin Smoak: Mellow but a masher

If Justin Smoak feels any pressure to perform, he won't show it.

If he feels any anxiety about being the most celebrated player of those sent by the Texas Rangers to Seattle in the trade for Cliff Lee, you won’t see it.

If he’s having the worst game of his career, or the best, it would be difficult to tell.

Suffice to say, if you are trying to get a read on Justin Smoak’s emotions, good luck.

It’s not that Smoak is some sort of cold, emotionless, baseball-playing robot. Instead, he’s a laid-back, cool customer with a massive amount of natural talent who never gets too high or too low. He brings a level day-to-day attitude that he hopes leads to consistent day-to-day success in the major leagues.

It’s something that the Mariners hope for as well.

After all, according to general manager Jack Zduriencik, Smoak was the one player the Mariners wanted from the time they first considered trading Lee to the Rangers. And it was the addition of Smoak to the offer that sealed the decision to send Lee to Texas and not the New York Yankees.

“Once they included Justin we pulled the trigger,” Zduriencik said. “We’d pinpointed a number of players we wanted for Cliff, and Smoak was one of them.”

What makes Smoak so coveted? There’s not much in his major league numbers to answer that.

Smoak was called up to the Rangers from Triple-A Oklahoma City in late April, and played in 27 games before the trade. He hit .209 (49-for-235) with 10 doubles, eight homers and 34 RBI.

Hardly eye-popping statistics.

But, there’s a need to look beyond those stats to different numbers. Realistically, this is his second season of professional baseball. After being selected with the 11th overall pick of the 2008 draft by Texas, Smoak played in just 14 minor league games that season, and later a handful of games in the Arizona Fall League.

In 2009, he played 106 games between Double A and Triple A sandwiched around an oblique injury in June that sidelined him for three weeks.

This year, he played in 15 games with Oklahoma City before being called up to replace a struggling Chris Davis at first base.

Smoak had a total of 599 minor league plate appearances in 135 games. By comparison, hard-hitting Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward – the 14th pick in the 2007 draft – had three years of seasoning that included 238 minor league games and 1,003 plate appearances before jumping to the big leagues in 2010.

“You see with most guys the adjustments through levels in the minor leagues,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. “And the biggest jump and the biggest adjustment is to the big leagues.”

And Smoak’s numbers are a product of that adjustment. He hasn’t been awful, and he hasn’t been good. But there are reminders of what he can be. As with most rookies, the struggle is to find consistency.

“I’m just trying to slow the game down,” Smoak said. “You feel good at times and the game’s going real slow. But when you start trying to do too much, it catches back up with you. You just try to find a way to stay consistent. I’ve had some ups and I’ve had some downs. You’ve got to even that out. Right now, that’s one thing I’m trying to do.”

Observers who get paid to know believe Smoak will slow the game down. And part of his ticket to success will be his mellow personality.

“He’s pretty quiet,” said Tacoma Rainiers manager Daren Brown, who managed Smoak in the Arizona Fall League. “He doesn’t say much. He just goes about his business.”

Mariners catcher Rob Johnson saw the same thing when he played with Smoak in the Fall League.

“He’s pretty even-keeled,” Johnson said. “Nothing seems to get to him.”

Johnson pointed to Smoak’s approach at the plate and his ability to forget at-bats immediately.

“He just doesn’t think about it,” Johnson said. “That’s so important to go up there and not get caught up thinking and just letting your swing do the work. He just never seemed to let his previous at-bats affect (his next) at-bat.”

Brown labeled it a “very mature” approach.

“He’s got great rhythm at the plate,” Wakamatsu said. “He doesn’t need to think too much. If he stays aggressive, he’s going to do some damage.”

Physically and talent-wise, Smoak has drawn countless comparison to New York Yankees All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira. Both starred in college – Teixeira at Georgia Tech, Smoak at South Carolina. Both switch-hit with power. Both are excellent on defense, and both got their start with the Rangers.

Wakamatsu was a bench coach with the Rangers in 2003 when Teixeira was a rookie after two years in the minors. Teixeira hit .259 with 26 homers and 84 RBI that season but was hitting under .200 until May. Wakamatsu likens Smoak’s current inconsistencies to Teixeira’s 2003 early struggles and is trying to temper excessive expectations.

“I caution it a little bit, just for the fact that I was over in Texas when Teixeira came up the first time,” Wakamatsu said. “I think (Smoak) is going through that, too. Being traded for Cliff Lee, I think it’s unfair that this guy has to come in and be this impact bat right away.”

But Smoak doesn’t mind the comparison.

“It’s a good thing,” Smoak said. “(Teixeira is) a great player. He’s achieved a lot as a big league first baseman, hopefully I will do the same.”

Zduriencik believes Smoak is equipped to succeed.

“If this guy is what we think he is, he’ll be a cornerstone of this franchise going forward,” Zduriencik said. “We think he’s a quality player with a great approach at the plate. He’s big and lanky and has a great swing from both sides of the plate. We think he’s going to settle in and be a really good big-league player.”

For Smoak, it’s just a matter of finding consistency by keeping that steady approach and constant attitude.

“I know I can hit,” Smoak said. “I know I can play defense. I know I can play at this level. When you slow it down, it makes it easy. When you speed the game up, it gets hard.”

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners