Dominic Smith (baseball)

Dominic Smith

Dominic Smith in March of 2016.
New York Mets
First baseman
Born: (1995-06-15) June 15, 1995
Los Angeles, California
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Career highlights and awards

Dominic David Rene Smith (born June 15, 1995) is an American professional baseball player in the New York Mets organization. He was selected by the Mets with the eleventh overall selection of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft out of Junípero Serra High School in Gardena, California.[1] He is currently assigned to the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League.[2] He bats and throws left-handed.

Early years

Smith participated in Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities and the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in his youth.[3] As a first baseman, outfielder & left-handed pitcher at Junípero Serra High School, he led the Cavaliers to the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section division championship in 2013.[4][5]

Smith was tabbed as one of the top prospects for the 2013 draft when he committed to attend the University of Southern California,[6][7] where he would have played college baseball for the USC Trojans.[8]

Signing with the Mets

Based simply upon their 2012 record, the New York Mets would have received the tenth overall pick in the 2013 amateur draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates, however, failed to sign Stanford University pitcher Mark Appel, their first-round pick and the eighth overall selection in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. As a result, the Pirates would receive a compensation pick at number nine, dropping the Mets' first round pick to eleventh overall.

The Mets were interested in type A free agent outfielder Michael Bourn,[9] however, changes in draft-pick compensation in the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed into effect in between the 2011 & 2012 seasons made the eleventh overall pick unprotected. Therefore, signing Bourn would mean that the Mets would surrender their first round pick in the 2013 draft.[10]

The Mets failed in their petition to the league to allow them to keep their first round pick should they sign Bourn. As a result, Bourn signed with the Cleveland Indians.[11] The Mets held onto the eleventh overall pick, and with it, drafted Smith.[1]

Minor league career

Upon signing with the Mets,[12] Smith was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, where he batted .287 with three home runs and 22 runs batted in in 48 games. He was subsequently promoted to the Appalachian League, where he recorded four doubles in just six at bats for the Kingsport Mets. At season's end, Baseball America named Smith as the 4th best prospect in the Gulf Coast League for 2013.[13]

He spent the entire 2014 season with the South Atlantic League's Savannah Sand Gnats. With just one home run, 44 RBIs and 77 strikeouts in 461 at bats, Smith fell way short of expectations.[14] Likewise, Smith got off to slow start with the St. Lucie Mets in 2015. He batted just .143 with one double in his first sixteen games, and was 0-for-22 to start May.[15]

On May 12, Smith got his first extra base hit since Opening Day with a double against the Tampa Yankees. The 3-for-5 performance signaled a turn around for Smith, who compiled a sixteen-game hitting streak to raise his batting average to .260. For the month of June, Smith batted .352 with a Florida State League leading 38 hits and 51 total bases. He also had the second most RBIs (20) and fifth most runs scored (15) to earn FSL Player of the Month honors.[16] The hot hitting continued; Smith ended the season with a .305/.354/.417 slashline, and a career high six home runs. He led the league with 79 RBIs and 33 doubles on his way to being named FSL Player of the Year.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 Anthony DiComo (June 6, 2013). "Mets Stick with M.O., Draft High School Bat Smith". MLB.com.
  2. ↑ Josh Norris (October 15, 2015). "Mets’ Smith Willing to Trade Power for Balance". Baseball America.
  3. ↑ Mark Newman (June 6, 2013). "Smith, Crawford products of MLB's youth initiatives". MLB.com.
  4. ↑ Guild, Ron (2013-05-31). "Wilson, Smith Lead Serra to First CIF Baseball Title". Wavenewspapers.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  5. ↑ Eric Sondheimer (2013-05-31). "Dominic Smith Leads Gardena Serra to Division 3 Baseball Title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  6. ↑ Spencer Fordin (2013-05-06). "Urban Youth Academy's Impact on Draft Continues". MLB.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  7. ↑ Jim Halley (May 29, 2013). "Serra's Dominic Smith Uses a Glove for More than Batting". USA Today.
  8. ↑ Joel Beck (April 10, 2013). "USC baseball commit Dominic Smith proves he owns the game". USA Today.
  9. ↑ Anthony DiComo (January 29, 2013). "Although deal unlikely, Mets meet with Bourn". MLB.com.
  10. ↑ Andy Marino (February 6, 2013). "NY Mets still motivated to sign Michael Bourn but adamant about keeping first-round draft pick". New York Daily News.
  11. ↑ Ryan (February 11, 2013). "Pirates and Mark Appel Help Indians Land Bourn". SBNation.
  12. ↑ Anthony DiComo (June 19, 2013). "Mets ink first-rounder Smith, plus dozen more". MLB.com.
  13. ↑ Ben Badler (September 24, 2013). "Gulf Coast League Top 20 Prospects With Scouting Reports". Baseball America. The Enthusiast Network.
  14. ↑ Mike Newman (2014). "Dominic Smith Scouting Report". ROTOscouting.
  15. ↑ Cody Derespina (June 23, 2015). "Dominic Smith fares well against Jose Fernandez in Mets' minors". Newsday.
  16. ↑ Steve Sypa (July 8, 2015). "Mets prospect Dominic Smith named Florida State League Player of the Month". Vox Media, Inc.
  17. ↑ "Minor league baseball: Miracle's Jeff Smith, Alex Swim receive Florida State League All-Star honors". Naples Daily News. Journal Media Group. September 3, 2015.

External links

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