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Mets Fans Rejoice With Dominic Smith Pick

By Former Writers

June 7, 2013 5 Comments

dominic smithDay one is in the books, and the New York Mets did exactly what everyone thought they would and went with a college bat with their first pick…well that is just a taste of the smoke and mirrors that takes place during draft time. It’s like a game of poker, and everyone called the Mets’ bluff. The Mets went with two high school players, which in their eyes were the best value at the time when they were on the clock.

I had my eye on two guys in this draft, and it’s funny that the Pittsburgh Pirates selected both players — Austin Meadows and Blake Taylor. I was hoping the Mets would take a left-handed pitcher in either round two or three, since the organization is so thin in that category, but they opted for high school pitching prospects Andrew Church, another right-handed arm to add to their stockpile. I was hoping that Kevin Ziomek, a lefty out of Vanderbilt, dropped to Mets in round three, but he was gobbled up with the Tigers with the 58th pick in round two.

It was nice to see the fans all very excited about the Mets’ No. 1 pick in Dominic Smith. Twitter lit up with excitement after the pick. I know many fans were not pleased with the Mets’ first round picks the past couple of seasons, and one of Harold Reynolds famous quotes last night came when he referred to Nimmo as “the kid from Wyoming.”

I’m excited about Dominic Smith. The kid has a silky smooth swing, and is solid defensively. In watching some video on Smith I did notice a couple of things that he is going to have to work on, or I can see the Mets coaches changing to make him an even better hitter.

The first thing I noticed, like I said earlier, was the pretty swing—the upper body works well, and he seems to barrel the ball consistently. The lower half is where I saw a couple of minor things that the Mets hitting coaches will clean up. Smith over strides, and tends to be out on the front foot quite a bit (almost lunges). He has been able to get away with that at the high school level because of his incredible hand-eye coordination, and ability to get the bat on the ball.

The Mets will probably have Smith start with a wider stance, in order to prevent over-striding, and this will help keep Smith’s eyes from changing levels through his swing, and should make him an even better hitter. They will also work on Smith keeping his weight back, and trusting his bat speed to produce and generate his power. Both of Smith’s issues are easily fixable, and with this kid’s makeup and defense, could be a great player for the Mets some day.

I was waiting for Harold Reynolds to announce that Dominic Smith would be the starting first baseman for the Mets come July, but he never did.

Aside from the Dominic Smith pick, the highlight of the night had to be when the Yankees selected a left-handed pitcher Ian Clarkin. Right after the pick, the MLB network flipped to an pre-draft interview with Clarkin when he proclaimed that he and his father hated the Yankees and when the Diamondbacks defeated the Yankees in the World Series, he cried tears of joy. Talk about the ultimate backfire. The interview on MLB network after he found out he was selected by the Yankees was one of the most awkward moments I have ever seen in my life. I felt bad for the kid, but why would you say you hated any team in pre-draft interviews knowing that any team can select you? Good luck with that Clarkin.

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