One of the most crucial parts of every team’s success, especially in this day and age, is their bullpen. The Mets ranked as one of the worst in this category in 2017, but made a series of to try and add depth in this spot.

Since July, the Mets have acquired Gerson Bautista, Stephen Nogesuk, Jamie Callahan, Jacob Rhame, AJ Ramos, Anthony Swarzak, and Drew Smith.

Smith is the guy to keep in mind.

The right-hander has had a whirlwind of movement in his career already as he began his career with the Detroit Tigers in 2015 before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in April of 2017.

He was then shipped off to the Mets in July of that same year in return for Lucas Duda.

During the 2017 season, Smith ascended through the minor leagues as he started off in single-A and even made an appearance at triple-A.

The statistics speak for themselves for the 24-year old as he had a 1.65 ERA, 0.900 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 42 games (60 innings) across three levels and five minor league rosters.

His overall career line to date bodes well for him too as he has 1.80 ERA, 0.952 WHIP, and 157 strikeouts in 139.2 innings.

It’s easy to tell that Smith could be a legitimate option just from those numbers.

However, the thing that stood out to me most was watching him in his first Spring Training game with Mets on Friday.

Smith struck out two batters in his only inning of work. That was not the impressive part about him, though.

His stuff looked extremely sharp. Ron Darling, on air, said his motion resembled that of Jake Arrieta. He looked like he had the motion, the deception, the stuff, and the confidence to compete at the big league level.

Now, obviously, nobody should rush to conclusions about Smith after one Spring Training appearance.

There was something about the way he carried himself on the mound, though, that felt like he had the makings of a late-inning reliever at the big league level.

As of now, the only “locks” for the bullpen are Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos, Anthony Swarzak, Jerry Blevins, and Paul Sewald. One of Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman, and Seth Lugo will likely join them.

That still leaves at least one spot in the bullpen open for the likes of Smith, Callahan, Rhame, Rafael Montero, Hansel Robles and Matt Purke.

Montero, as of now, might have a leg up on the rest, though, based solely on the fact he his out of minor league options and the Mets probably do not want to lose him.

The Mets might use an eight-man bullpen, though, which could open the door for a second reliever.

If that job opens up, Smith has the track record to put himself in the mix.

While he is likely ticketed for triple-A, this is a name to keep an eye on. Even if he is not on the Opening Day roster, don’t sleep on Smith. He might have as bright of a future as any of the relievers in the system right now.