New York Mets Prospects: Amed Rosario overshadowing Dominic Smith
The 2017 New York Mets season has been a painful one for many both to the team and fans. Injuries have sidetracked the year and made it a lost season for all. Fortunately, two notable Mets prospects are in Triple-A having a great season. One, though, is getting a lot more attention than the other.
Shortstop Amed Rosario and first baseman Dominic Smith are teammates with the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Both are seen as core members of the Mets’ future. While there has been a lot of hype about when Rosario will finally get his promotion, many have forgotten about Smith and the great bat he wields.
Throughout his professional career, Smith has been a reliable hitter who regularly hits near .300. Last year, he did something all first basemen should: found his power stroke. Smith ended the year with 14 home runs as a member of the Double-A Binghamton Mets. This season’s total could go much higher as he’s already at 12.
In addition to the power numbers going up, so has Smith’s batting average. He’s picking up a hit in nearly every third at-bat. All the Mets would need now is to clear room for him on the roster. Though trading Lucas Duda might prove challenging, it’s obvious Smith will get starting first base duties in 2018.
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Rosario and Smith are a great pairing for the Mets to build around. Many regard Rosario as a top ten or even three prospect. Smith falls somewhere closer to the middle on most experts’ top 100 lists. Smith is, however, the top first base prospect in all of baseball according to the most recent list published by MLB.com.
Not to discredit anything Rosario has done, many must remember how valuable Smith is to this team’s future as well. For one, each of Smith’s slash numbers are better than Rosario’s this season.
The difference between these two are likely due to the positions they play. This most recent free agent class taught us that first basemen are not as coveted as they once were. Many great sluggers accepted part-time jobs or went unsigned. A good shortstop is much harder to find.
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Smith should become more than a typical power-hitting first baseman. He’s more of a patient contact hitter than that anyway. The home runs will come, but not as pleasant as many others who play his position. Perhaps in a few years Mets fans will get frustrated by his lack of home run hitting abilities. Until that happens, Smith will have to earn their respect by picking up timely hits as opposed to the less frequent longer ones.