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Featured Post: Dominic Smith, Amed Rosario With Top Notch Defense

By Michael Mayer

November 18, 2015 No comments

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After the first half in the Minor Leagues, Baseball America asked managers and coaches to vote for who they thought has the best skills at every level in a variety of different categories. This year when they talked to the voters in the Florida State League the St. Lucie Mets infield stole the show winning every position besides third base.

Dominic Smith was voted as the best defensive first basemen in the FSL a year after compiling enough votes to garner the same award in the South Atlantic League. He was touted for his defense when the Mets drafted him 11th overall in 2013 despite his stocky frame. Smith is also bringing it with the bat this year hitting .310/.358/.422 with a league leading 32 doubles and second in the league with his 72 RBI.

Amed Rosario has missed time with a wrist injury but that hasn’t held him back from impressing personnel in the league who voted him as the best defensive shortstop they have seen all year. Error totals in the Minor Leagues should always be taken with a grain of salt, however it is nice to see Rosario with a career high .969 fielding percentage this year. In Baseball America’s recently updated Top 10 Mets prospects list they had Amed at #3 and called him the best athlete in the system before the season.

Rosario has held his own in the FSL hitting .260/.306/.342 with 12 stolen bases, 19 doubles, 5 triples, and 23 RBI in 94 games. The league average line is .248/.313/.338 and Rosario is over three years younger than the median age for the league.

He isn’t as highly touted as the other two, regardless Jeff McNeil is having a great season on both sides of the diamond and was awarded as the best defensive second basemen. Jeff has proved that he can play all over the infield sliding over to shortstop for 29 games when Rosario was hurt and manning third base in 27 games for a variety of reasons. He participated in the FSL All-Star game and has been in the top three in hitting virtually all season. He is currently batting .311/.372/.382 and leads the league with 75 runs scored.

Michael Conforto was named the best batting prospect in the league as well after hitting .283/.350/.462 in 46 games earlier this year for the St. Lucie Mets. Akeel Morris was voted as the best reliever after dominating in 32 innings allowing just eleven hits and six runs while striking out forty-six. Last but certainly not least was Luis Rojas taking the best manager prospect honors despite the team hovering around .500 all year.

The Binghamton Mets were shutout in the Eastern League honors this year after manager Pedro Lopez was named the best managing prospect in 2014.

Three Las Vegas 51’s garnered attention for their outstanding play this year in the Pacific Coast League including Steven Matz for best pitching prospect, Noah Syndergaard for best fastball, and Wilfredo Tovar as the best defensive second basemen.

The Savannah Sand Gnats had only one player who won but it was Jonathan Johnson and he was voted the best defensive second basemen as well as having the best strike-zone judgement. Jonathan has struggled in the second half after hitting .315/.426/.435 in the first 57 games and being named to the South Atlantic League All-Star roster. Sand Gnats first year manager Jose Leger was awarded as the best managing prospect in his first year in the year after coaching the Kingsport Mets for the last three seasons.