In an interview by Matt Ehalt of The Record, Mets first base prospect Dominic Smith addresses the concerns he had with his power shortage during his 2014 season in Single-A Savannah, where he clubbed just one home run in 126 games. He was in a real conundrum, and approached Mets staff for advice. They knew his power would come and they assured him of that.
“When they say they’re not worried about it, it helped me not worry about it,” Smith said. “They told me that after the season, I had a good year and not to really worry about power numbers because it will come. It helped me feel more comfortable without trying to hit homeruns. From that year on I focused on playing my game instead of trying to play other games that people wanted me to play.”
Smith, 20, who is the Mets top prospect and 29th overall prospect according to Keith Law of ESPN, showed improvement during his following year at Advanced-A St Lucie. Smith smashed 33 doubles and six homers while batting .305 with a .417 SLG and running away with the Florida State League MVP. But team officials do believe there is more power for him to unlock.
“A lot of times power is the last skill to come,” said Ian Levin, Mets director of Minor league operations. “I’m not worried at all about that. As he matures and gets more experience, the power will come.”
The Mets are clearly confident in Smith, and they should be. He is an excellent prospect, who continues to trend upward. The team has developed some great young players between the entire rotation, Jeurys Familia, Michael Conforto, and hopefully one day Smith. I believe he will be the next young star that the Mets produce, but he will not be the last.
