Mets prospect Dominic Smith named Florida State League Player of the Month

St. Lucie Mets first baseman Dominic Smith has been named the Florida State League Player of the Month. The first baseman hit .352/.397/.472 in twenty-six games in June, leading the Florida State League in hits (38) and total bases (51), placing second in RBI (20), and fifth in runs scored (15).

Smith, drafted in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Junipero Serra High School, began the season mired in a slump. He started on the right foot, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk on Opening Day, but his bat quickly went cold. For the month of April, he hit just .220/.256/.244.

Smith's woes at the plate continued into May; at one point, his batting line fell as low as .157/.213/.171. On May 12, Smith went 3-for-5 with a double—his first extra base hit since Opening Day—against the Tampa Yankees and his fortunes seemed to turn around. He started hitting doubles at a rapid pace and went on a thirteen-game hitting streak between May 18 and the end of the month. For the month as a whole, the first baseman batted .276/.321/.429, bringing his total batting line up to .260/.303/.377.

The 20-year-old continued swinging a hot bat to open June, hitting in three more consecutive games to bring his hitting streak to a total of sixteen games. Though not necessarily in consecutive games, Dom continued hitting, batting a blistering .352/.397/.472 for the month. When the month ended, he brought his total batting line for the season up to .299/.342/.417.

Smith was ranked the Mets' 11^th-best prospect on Amazin' Avenue's top 25 prospects for 2015 list. While many of the issues that were identified—mainly his lack of home run power relative to a first base prospect and issues regarding his weight—remain, his performance thus far is a positive step in the right direction.