Most of you already know that I was very high on the Dominic Smith pick from the start — and I knew that he would take a little time to adjust to pitching in the pros. However, he’s been on a recent hot streak that bears mentioning because it’s the result of adjustments at the plate. Smith, coming straight of High School, was likely to struggle with recognition of breaking pitches. He started off slow, with an average under .200 throughout the early part of his season.

It is incredibly difficult to state…well, how incredibly difficult the jump is from HS ball to the pros, so the fact that Smith has adjusted so quickly is honestly quite encouraging for his future. He’s a professional hitter and has made great strides at the plate since his GCL debut. His first 21 at-bats, which came in June, produced just three hits — a .143 average. He picked it up a little in July, batting .270 (20-for-74) with five doubles and two home runs. As August hit, however, he’s stepped up his game even further with a .306 average (11-for-36).

Throughout his ten games played in August, he has three multi-hit games — in fact, he had three consecutive games with multiple hits before last night’s 1-for-4 performance. He has banged out at least a hit in eight of the ten games and is currently on a four-game hitstreak. Another encouraging sign for Smith is that his left/right splits are fairly even (.255 vs .262), which is a great thing to see from a young hitter.

All in all, the Smith pick could work out to be one of the better ones in Mets history if things break his way, considering he still has time to bulk up and add power and already demonstrates a penchant for contact. My MLB player comparison was Todd Helton without Coors Field. He’s a few years away, but I’m definitely getting that future first baseman vibe…