Cade Smith is a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher the New York Yankees believe could make quite a difference at the MLB level. Both the player and the organization would love it to happen in 2026.
Cade Smith also is a 26-year-old right-handed pitcher coming off two exceptional seasons with the Cleveland Guardians. That team says he is not going anywhere – except back to its’ very own bullpen.
So, relax Cleveland fans. Your closer is staying close. That is extremely important in the wake of losing former all-star Emmanuel Clase, banned for gambling.
Meanwhile, the Yankees and their fans hope their Cade Smith can make as much of an impact with a distinctly different pitch arsenal. Cleveland’s Cade blows hitters away with a nasty fastball/splitter combination. The Yankees’ version has elite spin rates on his slider, curve and fastball.
There’s always going to be a comparison and the Yankees’ No. 17 ranked prospect in 2025 by MLB Pipeline tries to ignore it. “I hear it all the time,” he said before a game in the Arizona Fall League in November. “All I can do is say this is who I am. And go out and pitch.”
He did exactly that in the AFL, striking out 14 over 12 2/3 innings and allowing 7 hits and 2 walks while going 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA. A tiny sample size to be sure, but it was a big step for a guy who missed much of the regular season.
In his first outing, he fanned five over three hitless innings of relief. Next time out, he retired the first 11 men he faced, fanned five, and gave up a single over 3 2/3 innings.
“Getting the breaking ball over for strikes early makes a difference,” he said. “Then I can get outs with my fastball, too. The big thing is command. You have to throw strikes.”
He capped his AFL tenure with a nine-pitch scoreless inning in the Fall Stars Game.
Cade Smith’s Road To The Yankees
The right-hander gained notice at Mississippi State when his relief work helped the Bulldogs win the 2021 College World Series. He went 3-0 with a 2.40 ERA. He had also won two state titles in high school.
Moved to the rotation the next two years, he had a middling 5-6 record and overall 4.37 ERA. The Yankees picked him in the sixth round, pick No. 192 in 2023, and signed him for $282,900.
Eleven others drafted at 192 have made it to MLB. That includes shortstop Mike Aviles, who hit .261 in 915 MLB games, right-hander Mark Gardner, 99-93, 4.56 ERA in 356 games and lefty Chuck McElroy, 38-30, 3.90 ERA, 17 saves in 494 games.
This brings another inevitable comparison: Cleveland signed its’ Cade Smith for $25,000 after he went undrafted in 2020. He had been picked out of high school in the 16th round by the Minnesota Twins in 2017. The native of Canada went to the University of Hawaii and did little over three years: 4-4, 4.54 ERA, 1 save in 117 innings.
The last two years for the Guardians, he compiled a 14-6 record, 17 saves, 2.42 ERA with a whopping 207 strikeouts and only 36 walks and 106 hits allowed in 149 innings.
The Yankees’ prospect made strides in 2024, striking out 118 and giving up only 63 hits across 93 2/3 innings of Class A ball.
“Everything’s changed,” Smith told Jesse Borek of MLB.com of his career since Mississippi State. “I’m paying more attention to execution instead of just being a thrower.”
The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder was limited to 11 starts last summer by a sore right shoulder. He did fine when he was on the mound for 39 2/3 innings — striking out 42, allowing 24 hits, with a 2.50 ERA. That included an eight-strikeout game.
The Name’s The Same
Incredibly, there are more than 550 instances of players with the same name in MLB history. Some are sons named after fathers such as Hall of Famers Earl Averill, Eddie Collins, Tony Gwynn, Vladimir Guerrero, Ed Walsh and their sons, or Ken Griffey and his Hall of Famer son. There are many examples of unrelated same-name players:
- There have been five MLB players apiece named Luis Garcia, Bob Smith and John Sullivan.
- Two Bob Millers, both right-handed pitchers, were New York Mets teammates in 1962. Bob G. Miller pitched for three MLB teams between 1953 and 1962. Bob L. Miller was with 10 teams, 1957 to 1974. A third right-hander overlapped both, pitching for Philadelphia, 1949-58. Right-hander Bobby Miller has been with the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2023.
- Former outfielder and current manager of the two-time World Series champion Dodgers Dave Roberts is among four MLB players with that name.
- The 2000 Mets had two right-handers named Bobby Jones. Robert Joseph Jones pitched for New York and San Diego, 1993-2002. Robert Mitchell Jones was with four clubs, 1997-2004. There also was outfielder Bob Jones with the Rangers and Angels, 1974-86 and third baseman Bob Jones of the Detroit Tigers, 1917-25.
- Cleveland had two right-handers named Roberto Hernandez in 2007 though it was not known. The Indians signed the 42-year-old reliever who was with 10 clubs, 1991-07. In his 14th appearance, he worked in relief of a starter whose real name was Roberto Hernandez. Except that guy was called Fausto Carmona until 2012. He had used the name and claimed to be 17 when he was actually 20 and signed for a reported $9,000 in 2000.
Cade Smith’s Future With New York Yankees
Naysayers point out he was “only” a mid-round draft pick by the New York Yankees. He was selected one round and one year later than Cam Schlittler and two rounds and two years after Will Warren. Both those pitchers were valuable contributors to the Yankees last season.
Smith is likely slated for Double-A ball in 2026. He needs to keep pounding the strike zone, eliminate walks, and finding a tad more movement on his mid-90s fastball would help. This season likely will be a turning point up or down.
The right-hander could solve a lot of confusion by using his real first name, Jason. That’s his father’s name. Therefore, he has been called by his middle name, Cade. The given name of Cleveland’s reliever is Cade Jared Benjamin Smith.
A good 2026 season would help young Cade Smith make a name for himself and maybe a call up to the New York Yankees.
