New York Mets are giving up on Dominic Smith too soon

The New York Mets signed veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez on Saturday, putting a roadblock in the way of Dominic Smith’s development.

Dominic Smith was the No. 2 prospect in the New York Mets farm system when he was called up for the first time in August. Typically, a top prospect gets a long leash and plenty of time to prove himself.

Dom Smith, however, isn’t getting such treatment.

Smith played in just 49 games in 2017, logging 167 at-bats. Admittedly, Smith didn’t light the league on fire in his rookie campaign but finding a replacement for him just six months after his debut is a bit much.

A .198/.262/.395 slash line doesn’t look good but there were some encouraging signs from Smith’s first taste of the big league.

First of all, Smith hit nine homers in 2017. Considering he did so in just 49 games is encouraging. Smith also had a hard-hit rate (exit velocity of over 95 mph) that ranked in the top 15 percent of qualified hitters (42.0%).

MLB.com’s David Adler has a great article about how Smith’s hard-hit rate provides hope for improvement in 2018.

The problem is that Smith may find at-bats hard to come by in 2018.

After the New York Mets signed veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, the starting first base job no longer looks like Smith’s to lose.

Gonzalez and Smith are both left-handed hitters so a platoon won’t work. And Smith’s minor league options could make it easy for the Mets to send him down to Triple-A.

It was also believed that Jay Bruce would see time at first base in 2018 after signing with New York last week.

I understand that hitting under the Mendoza Line doesn’t earn you a starting spot the next year but as a top prospect with just 167 major league at-bats under his belt, signing two players who will take reps away from Smith seems impulsive.

Just take a look at the Mets’ neighbors, the New York Yankees. In 2016, one of their top prospects came up late in the season. He logged just 84 at-bats and hit .179/.263/.345 with four home runs and 42 strikeouts.

That prospect was none other than Aaron Judge.

Despite striking out in half of his at-bats, the Yankees stood pat with their outfield and allowed Judge to compete for the starting right field job. Obviously, Judge won the job and went on to win American League Rookie of the Year in 2017.

Now I am in no way saying that Dominic Smith is the next Aaron Judge. But maybe he’s the next James Loney or even the next Adrian Gonzalez.

Don’t forget that Smith was a .302 career hitter in the minor leagues and hit .330 at Triple-A in 2017 before being called up.

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Some prospects make their debut and hit the ground running. They quickly adjust to major league pitching and become stars. For others, it takes time. There’s an adjustment period.

Dominic Smith is a talented baseball player. There’s a reason he was a first-round draft pick and the No. 2 prospect in the New York Mets farm system. He just needs time to continue his development.

Sure, he could continue to develop in Triple-A to start 2018, but his 2017 stats show that Smith has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues. Going back down to play in Las Vegas could even stunt Smith’s growth.

Smith needs to work out the kinks in the major leagues.

Next: Assessing the Jay Bruce Reunion in Queens

Some New York Mets fans may be excited about the signing of Adrian Gonzalez. To me, however, it seems as though they are giving up on Dominic Smith too soon.

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