New York Mets: Prospects to Watch in 2016

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Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; A fan dressed as batman holds up a sign in game five of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Dominic Smith, 1B

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The Mets first round pick of 2013 had an impressive 2015 campaign as he captured the Florida State League MVP honors after batting .305 with six home runs and 79 RBI over 118 games with High-A St. Lucie.

Many scouts are turned off by the 20-year old’s laid back approach, which is often taken as disinterest or laziness, but I personally think that’s who he is and how he carries himself, which isn’t the worst thing in the world. My biggest concern for Smith is that he tends to get out in front of the ball, which leads to weaker contact. That issue is not fixed yet and he will be looking to correct it so he can translate that raw power into game power.

Smith is ranked as the third-best first baseman prospect by MLBPipeline.com as we gear up for the 2016 season, and he has increasingly developed as a hitter since his professional career began so there’s no reason to believe he can’t fix his swing. Despite getting around on the ball a little too much, he still has shown the ability to post a high average and a good on-base percentage, and scouts call him an average defensive player as well.

In 2016, he’ll start the year in AA, if he’s able to replicate his performance from 2015 and tranfer that raw power to in-game power, I think he could take over for Lucas Duda once his contract expires.

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