Photo By Ernest Dove

Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal reports Dominic Smith will start on Opening Day for the Las Vegas 51s.  According to Manager Tony DeFrancesco, Smith is only slated to play five innings as the former first round pick still needs to get his legs in shape.

Smith was limited to just one at-bat in Spring Training before he strained his right quad.  Because of this injury, it was not expected Smith was going to be ready for Opening Day. In fact, as previously reported by MMN, Smith was not even listed on the Las Vegas 51s roster.

Last year, Smith played 114 games for Las Vegas hitting .330/.386/.519 with a career high 34 doubles and 16 homers.  This led to a call-up to the majors in August.

Smith had reported to Spring Training in the best shape of his life looking for a chance to claim the Opening Day first base job from Adrian Gonzalez.  As noted, his quad injury robbed him of his chance.  With him healthy now, he will get a chance to play everyday in Las Vegas and put pressure on the Mets to call him up again.