This postseason we’ve all seen the young arms that the New York Mets have been cultivating in the minor leagues for a number of years. This Arizona Fall League first base prospect Dominic Smith is showing everyone that there are some bats on that farm as well.
The Mets have some young players that can swing the bats on their roster with the likes of cult hero Wilmer Flores who hit 16 homers in the regular season, Travis d’Arnaud, who has shown glimpses of turning the corner at the dish in an injury-plagued season, and outfielder Michael Conforto who performed well in the opportunities he was given this season, but it is Smith that has folks raving.
For starters, Smith has played in just 8 games for the Salt River Rafters this season, so the sample size is extremely small, but in his 27 at-bats the left-handed swinging Smith is producing a .519 batting average to go along with a tremendous .639 on-base percentage. Smith has also exhibited patience at the plate, walking nine times against six strikeouts. It should come as no surprise then that Smith has produced four multi-hit games in that span, and has drawn a walk in all but two contests with the numbers that he’s producing early on.
Smith was selected out of high school by the Mets with the 11th pick in the 2013 draft, and according to Jim Callis, that is the earliest a high school first baseman had been selected since the Royals took Eric Hosmer with the 3rd overall pick in 2008. Callis also points out that Smith struggled during the first month of the 2015 season, batting .157 with St. Lucie, but snapped out of it by ‘picking the brains’ of rehabbing big leaguers like Michael Cuddyer and Daniel Murphy as well as Conforto who started the season with the club. In his possession is “a simple, direct left-handed swing and doesn’t try to do too much at the plate” with which he can go to all fields.
After a 1-for-3 day on Tuesday that included a double, a RBI and two walks, Smith finds himself third in the league in batting average and OPS, but first in on-base percentage.
So just where does Dominic Smith fit into the Mets future plans? The streaky 29-year old Lucas Duda is currently manning the only position besides designated hitter that Smith has ever played in pro ball, but with Duda’s age 30 season approaching and two years of team control, the Mets can take their time with the 20-year old Smith if they so choose, giving him full seasons in Double-A and Triple-A before bringing him up for the 2018 season. That would be the path of least resistance, but if Smith continues to pound the ball like he has been through the first two weeks of the Fall League, that timetable may be sped up just a tad which could lead to the Mets dangling Duda next offseason.
Smith is the Mets #5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and ranked #92 among all prospect in baseball. With St. Lucie in 2015, he finished with a batting average of .305, a .354 OBP, 6 homers and 79 RBI. The power numbers are sure to increase as he matures, but even some moderate pop with a bat that can hit for average could get the job done in the slightly less powerful National League.