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I mean, you're talking about a guy who doesn't even have a full season's worth of PAs yet and is already mashing. Smith who was drafted in the 2nd round for his TOOLS (was the backup to Payton Manning as a QB in college with an unimpressive college baseball career), and has excellent plate skills with the ability to play an averagish LF. The guy has untapped upside at the plate, and Col is treating him like 4th OF/pinch hitter.
He also isn't a slug like Nick Johnson and will actually score runs with his career .370+ OBP. Prorate his career production to what an average #3 hitter would get (somewhere around 650 PAs) and you get 98 Runs and 88 RBI.
He'd be the perfect #3 hitter behind Ichiro and Figgins. With his ability to play averagish D in a corner, he kills the need for a 4th outfielder and gives you a cheap long term OF/DH for the next 4-5 years. You can even develop Saunders as a regular in LF, if Saunders pans out in the next 2-3 years he stays, if not Smith can take over as your LF.