Last November, the Mets added lefty reliever Josh Smoker to the 40-man roster less than a year after signing him to a minor league deal. The former Washington Nationals first round pick hadn’t thrown a pitch above A-ball and was coming off a season in the Frontier League when the Mets scooped him up.
In 2015, his first year with the Mets, Smoker pitched to a 3.12 ERA combined between the Savannah Sand Gnats, St. Lucie Mets and Binghamton Mets. He also struck out 60 batters in 49 innings compared to only 17 walks. Beyond those numbers it was the stuff that was enticing, lefties that throw 96/97 MPH don’t grow on trees. Add in a good split change and you have the makings of an effective reliever.
The strong lefty was sent to the Las Vegas 51s to start the 2016 season in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. He had a 4.11 ERA and 1.474 WHIP in 57 Triple-A innings for the 51s. He did allow 66 hits including five home runs but struck out a whopping 81 batters and walked 18.
Smoker pitched in his first major league game on August 19th against the San Francisco Giants, giving up two runs and recording only one out. He continued his struggles allowing three runs over his next three appearances before finally settling in. Over his final 16 big league games he gave up five runs in 12.1 innings (3.65 ERA) while holding opponents to a .227 average. He struck out 22 batters in that span and walked four.
He finished his first big league stint with an unimpressive 4.74 ERA and 1.303 WHIP. However, he did strike out 14.67 batters per nine innings, the fourth best mark in all of the majors for the 2016 season.
Smoker is still perfecting his slider and has actually been better against right-handed batters in the minors and majors since joining the Mets. So he’s not your prototypical LOOGY out of the pen.
The 2016 Mets bullpen had a good primary lefty reliever in Jerry Blevins but he is entering free agency. The other left-handed reliever on the Mets 40-man roster is Josh Edgin who struggled in his return from Tommy John Surgery despite good numbers against lefties. They also have Sean Gilmartin who pitched mainly as a starter in the minors this year and who’s 40-man spot could be in jeopardy.
Smoker came to the majors showing off a good fastball and a solid split change at times. He still needs refinement on his slider and keeping his fastball out of the heart of the plate. His role on the 2017 Mets could be greatly affected by whether or not Blevins re-signs.
What role should Josh Smoker play on the 2017 Mets?
