Today the Mets officially added left-handed former Nationals first round pick Josh Smoker to their 40-man roster putting it right at 40.
Smoker started the season with the Savannah Sand Gnats after signing a minor league deal on during the last week of Spring Training. He pitched for the St. Lucie Mets as well and finished the year at AA with the Binghamton Mets.
Overall this year he was 3-0 with six saves with a 3.12 ERA and 1.184 WHIP while striking out 60 batters in 49 innings.
Josh was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the first round (31st overall) of the 2007 but after two arm injuries caused him to miss the 2013 season he was forced to pitch in the Frontier League in 2014. Here you can read more about his unlikely path.
I watched Josh pitch numerous times this season for the B’Mets and his stuff will definitely play at the Major League level. He gets his fastball up to the 96-97 MPH range and has an impressive split-change that makes him effective against right-handed batters.
When I talked to him in August he said he was working on a slider to help him against lefties because he was aware they actually hit him better (.641 OPS for LHB and .547 OPS for RHB). He is definitely someone worth keeping an eye on for the 2016 Mets bullpen.
