Like Mark Teixeira, Justin Smoak was a highly-touted, switch-hitting first baseman who signed late after being drafted.
I though it would be interesting to take a look at their respective performance in their first month+ of games in their first full season of pro ball:
Mark Teixeira -- .320/.411/.593, 21 walks and 24 Ks in 175 PAs
Justin Smoak -- .358/.470/.547, 20 walks and 13 Ks in 116 PAs
Not bad. Teixeira was exhibiting more power, but Smoak has a higher walk rate and a higher contact rate. Although Teixeira was more highly regarded than Smoak was, coming out of college, their early performances in their first full seasons are pretty comparable.
Oh, except for one other thing...
Those numbers by Teixeira? They were in A-ball...he spent his first 38 games in the Florida State League, before moving up to the Texas League.
Smoak is doing this in AA, a level higher than where Teixeira started out and put up those numbers.
Not bad at all.