Since the Mets minor league affiliates opened their respective seasons, the story has been Peter Alonso. How could it not be with him opening the season hitting .403/.500/.778 with six doubles, seven homers, and 18 RBI? He’s made significant strides in his ability to hit right-handed pitching, his patience at the plate, and his defense. Everyone has taken notice.
With this start, Keith Law on his personal website Meadow Party stated, “Alonso would be a top 100 prospect now (given some graduations & new looks at him) and I think he’s an above-average regular at least.”
Of course, with all the attention on Alonso, it means the attention is no longer on 2013 first round draft pick Dominic Smith. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, not this year.
After struggling with a -1.2 WAR in his Major League debut, Smith would come to Spring Training in the best shape of his life. He looked poised and ready to fight and beat Adrian Gonzalez for the Opening Day first base job. As we know, it didn’t turn out that way.
After a difficult Spring Training, Smith was hitless in six of the first 12 games he played, and he was hitting just .268. Naturally, that number always looks worse when those stats are put up in the Pacific Coast League. That start, coupled with Alonso’s start, have caused many to contemplate whether it is Alonso and not Smith who is the Mets first baseman of the future.
Recently, Smith is reminding everyone why he was once a Top 100 prospect who earned a call-up to the majors last season. This includes yesterday’s game against the Colorado Rockies Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes. In a game started by Yency Almonte, the 10th best prospect in the Rockies organization according to MLB Pipeline, Smith was 2-4 with two runs and a walk.
The game was not just a reminder of how productive Smith can be with the bat, but it was also a reminder of how well he can before against top competition.
Overall, Smith is in the middle of a four game hitting streak, and he has reached base safely in six straight games. Over this stretch, he has struck out five times, and he has drawn four walks. Speaking of the walks, that is one area in which Smith has excelled this year. Currently, he has a terrific 17.2 percent walk rate.
So yes, Alonso is off to a hot start, and he is the Mets minor league first baseman garnering all the attention. However, as we have seen with this recent stretch, Smith is going to be heard from again before all is said and done.
