Dominic Smith is currently the Mets number two prospect according to us here at MMO/MMN and is considered their top prospect by some including Keith Law.
The knock by some, coming into 2016 in Smith was the lack of power he has shown since being draft by the Mets out of the first round in 2013. In his first two seasons he combined to hit four home runs in 177 games including only one in 461 at bats for the Savannah Sand Gnats in 2014.
His power started showing up last season when he led the Florida State League with 33 doubles while hitting six home runs in what is considered a pitcher friendly league. He finished with a .417 slugging percentage which was the fourth best in the league. All while starting the season as a 19-year old and winning the Most Valuable Player award for the league.
Before the Binghamton Mets game on Saturday I had the opportunity to watch Smith take batting practice. He started off in the first round by peppering the entire field with line drives, something he continues to do once the games start.
Then came the next couple of rounds where he started showing off the power we have all wanted to see. He was hitting balls out to left center, center and pulling a few to right field. The biggest thing that jumped out to be was the loft that he was getting. These weren’t all just line drive home runs, he hit a couple to right field that were Lucas Duda like moon shots.
His power carried over to the game as well, hitting a shot to left center field for his fourth home run of the season. He didn’t hit his fourth homer of the season in 2015 until July 11th. I did I mention he is only 20-years old and one of the youngest players in the entire league.
In the same day, he hit what is one of the highest fly balls I’ve ever seen in-person, the height was measured at 195 feet. The point being that Smith is starting to lift the ball and that combined with the fact that he makes a ton of hard contact should translate to more balls traveling out of the park.
I have been saying for awhile that I think Smith could be a major league caliber starting first baseman without the traditional power you like from a corner position. That is partially because he already uses the entire field, showed gap power the other way and has a beautiful swing. He is also a plus defender at first base despite having what some thing is a physique issue.
Smith didn’t disappoint in any of those areas when I saw him either, he looked great over at first. His hands are smooth, great footwork around the bag and provided perfect feeds to pitchers covering first.
He faced two lefties in the second game I watched and went 1 for 2 with a line drive single to left center and a hard hit ball to the shortstop hole that turned into a RBI ground out. The single came off a 3-2 fastball that came in at 94.7 MPH after he had fouled off a tough breaking ball.
I wouldn’t be able to write a report on Smith without mentioning his size which seems to be an issue for some. Does he look like a prototypical major league player, no. Has he worked hard to get in better shape, yes and I didn’t come across a single instance where I was like, well he could have done that if he was 20 pounds lighter. Bottom line is that he is a good player whether he looks like Yoenis Cespedes or Prince Fielder.
My assessment of Dominic Smith hasn’t changed much, he is going to be a first division first baseman that gets on base, hits the ball foul line to foul line and provides value as a defender.
I was able to talk to a scout from an AL Central team that had this to say about Smith
“He is going to hit for power and he is going to be the Mets first baseman for a very long time.”
That is where my thoughts on Smith change, before seeing this year I thought he would be a guy that hit 13-16 home runs at the big league level. With him beginning to lift the ball and hit more balls to the pull side I could see him launching 18-22 long balls in a full season. The same scout mentioned the loft he had seen from Smith this year was something he didn’t see much of with St. Lucie.
Time for Mets fans to rejoice as Smith is now showing the power you had all hoped for and should be bringing it to your viewing pleasure at Citi Field before you know it.
Be sure to check out MetsMinors.net for all the minor league coverage including last night’s recap.
