In lieu of early injuries to Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier this spring, New York Mets minor-league stalwart and once-again full-time first baseman Dominic Smith has an opportunity to show he was worthy of a first-round draft pick in 2013 and has the ability to stick around at the major-league level for a while.
At just 23-years-old, there’s still plenty of time for Smith to figure things out. For a while during his development, it appeared as if Sandy Alderson & Co. had found themselves a stud.
In 2015 (Advanced-A St. Lucie), Smith slashed .305/.354/.417 with a .361 weighted on-base average, a 133 weighted runs created plus rating and a 15.1 percent strikeout rate. He improved on those marks at Double-A Binghamton in 2016 (.302/.367/.457, .371 wOBA, 130 wRC+, 13.7 percent strikeout rate), and kept on hitting the following season at Triple-A Las Vegas with his .330/.386/.519 line with a .392 wOBA, 134 wRC+, and 17.4 percent strikeout rate.
Smith made his MLB debut in 2017 to unspectacular results, hitting just .198/.262/.395 with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate. Those struggles translated to his approach back in Vegas last season with a then-MiLB career-high 20.3 K-rate to go along with his severely degraded .258/.328/.380 slash line.
By the time Smith was facing major-league pitching again, his confidence must have been at an all-time low. Though he did improve on his production in comparison to his previous MLB stint with his .224/.255/.420 slash line, his development was still a bit underwhelming.
In an interview with Kyle Glaser of Baseball America, Smith expanded on his struggles, what he learned along the way, as well as his mindset heading into the 2019 season.
“One of the things I’ve learned is you’ve got to have a really good routine that you can stick to every day […],” Smith told Glaser. “We have some of the greatest coaches in all of baseball, but you still have to know what you’re doing and kind of hold yourself accountable,”
Smith then gave a glimpse into his mind as the Mets were adding guys like Lowrie and J.D. Davis to presumably compete with him and top-prospect Pete Alonso.
“It definitely makes you more hungry, kind if lights a little fire under your butt and makes you want to compete every day in spring […] Brodie keeps stating he’s going to take the best 25 guys to start the season. I just want to keep putting myself in that position to be one of those top 25 guys and let the best man win.”
“In years past, you could kind of look at the lineup, look at the roster, and you could kinda put the 25 guys in there […] This year is different. You play well and you could be right there,” Smith said. “I just want to play my game, and if I play my game I know I’m going to put myself in a good position to make the Mets make a tough decision.”
With a few spots opening up in the Lowrie and Frazier injuries, if Smith “plays his game”, he could very well find himself at first base on Opening Day in Washington, D.C.
