2. Dominic Smith, 1B
Birthdate: 6/15/95 (21 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: AA
Stats in 2016: .302/.367/.457, 14 HR, 2 SB
The New York Mets selected Smith out of high school at #11 in 2013, and he was considered by many to be the top high school pure bat in a draft that contained such prominent players as Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows.
Smith has always shown tremendous bat-to-ball ability, showing extreme hand-eye coordination and the ability to barrel balls, even if it took until this year to start seeing his raw power start to come to fruition in game.
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Smith is an adept fielder around the first base bag, likely a Gold Glove caliber player once he gets to the big leagues. While he doesn’t profile elsewhere, his glove work and picking balls out of the dirt will allow his entire infield defense to play up around him.
Smith may not ever be a guy who hits 30-40 home runs, but he very well may be a guy who profiles with a .300 average and 20-25 home runs and a good amount of doubles from the left side. Some compared his likely offensive outcomes to a former Met first baseman, John Olerud.
Smith will likely see AAA in 2017, and he could make an appearance at the big league level in season at some point. With Lucas Duda in his final year of arbitration this season, Smith may have a clear path to the starting role in 2018.
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