Dominic
Smith is often referred to as a guy who needs to hit with more power, while
Michael Conforto is spoken of in glowing terms (as Conforto deserves to be, as
I believe he has a great future with the Mets, perhaps along the lines of the
offensive career of David Wright).
I'll
bet most folks focus more on Conforto and lean towards the guy who's made it to
the bigs already.
I
just wonder if Dominic Smith might not be the better of the two, long term.
Why?
First,
Conforto is two years older than Smith, which means a lot when you remember
Smith just turned 20 eight weeks ago. One has to wonder how good Smith will be
in 2 years. My guess is if he is not blocked, he'll be a successful major
leaguer by then.
Second,
Smith had a slow start this year, and was hurt, but when he awakened, he
awakened in a big way. In his last 81 games in St Lucie (half the length of a
big league season), he has had 29 doubles, 5 HRs, 66 RBIs and batted .331.
Double those numbers to project a full 162 game season and...wow!
At
a year older while 2 leagues lower in Brooklyn in 2014, Conforto hit at
virtually the same pace over 42 games as Smith has in his last 81 games - .331,
10 doubles, 3 homers - but again, he was a year older and 2 leagues lower while
doing it. What will Smith do next year
at the same age?
Third,
Conforto is clearly a solid defensive LF. But Smith is touted as an elite
defensive 1B. Seems the edge defensively goes to Smith.
So...Conforto
or Smith...Maris or Mantle...Mays or McCovey. Tough to pick, between the
last 2 groups of guys in their pinnacle years. Closer to home, deGrom or
Harvey. Tough. Conforto or Smith is a tough choice.
I
think Smith may have him by a nose in a few years. Both ought to be All
Star caliber.
Who
do you pick, between the two? Let me know.
But...pick
either one, you win.
19 comments:
Smith has been highly underrated by the Mets fan base. As he moves away from the power-challenged environments in the SAL and FSL, I see him as a .300 hitter with 20+ HR and elite defense at 1B.
If Smith commits to working hard and keeping his conditioning - he could be a very good ML ball player for a long time.
Yes, he is 2 years younger than Conforto - which means a lot on the prospect scale - it also has the draw back in that by 22 you can get a better grip of someone's mental makeup -- I think it is safe to say Conforto has a driven personality -- if Smith shows he is as driven, he can be great
Nice problem to have - kind of Wright vs. Reyes for 2017
I think they will both be very good players for the Mets for years.
Tom I have a question that I would like your opinion on.
Isn't Lagares at this point a better player than Conforto and that being the case, why is our resident Imbecile in the dugout choosing to play Conforto instead? Why is he playing Lagares in RF?
I understand Conforto's promise but I personally do not think that he should be playing while Lagares sits.
I believe that either Conforto or Smith is much better than the other one. I just don't know which one. Neither has proven it at the MLB level. 10 years ago I remember debating who was the better Met prospect. Fernando Martinez or Carlos Gomez. I was one of the few picking Carlos Gomez but I thought it was very close. In hind sight we now know Carlos Gomez became a much better player. I feel the same will happen here. One will be able to do it at the MLB level, one may not. I hope 'm wrong and bother are hitting .330 with 30 homers for the Mets 3 or 4 years from now.
As far as playing Conforto over Lagares. We don't know everything Terry Collins does. Part of it could be to give Lagares' arm a chance to heal. I'm not a doctor and I don't have access to his records. Keep him on the bench with just enough playing time in August and that might make the difference for him in September. His arm is not bad enough to force him on the DL but it is clearly not 100%. I'm not a doctor I don't know of the rest will do anything for him he may need surgery. Terry Collins does have the advice of very good doctors. Who know what goes into his decisions. That is just a possibility.
Richard Jones
I hope it turns out like Lew's Wright vs Reyes rather than my Martinez vs Gomez.
Richard Jones
Lagares hasn't hit RHP at all this season - his defense hasn't made up for his utter lack of offense - plus there is the elbow thing
To be fair to F-Mart he was undone by long standing injuries to his knees
Gomez or Martinez? Let us not forget about the legend of Lastings Milledge!
I think we'll get a much better picture of what Dom Smith really is once he moves up to Bingo. I agree that playing in tough leagues and stadiums for the past two years has hinders his home run totals somewhat, but I still would've like more.
That said, he's already bypassed his homer total this year 500% compared to last year and has around 30 doubles. That's good stuff.
Comparing him to Conforto may be a stretch as age and experience gives the edge to Conforto and it's not close. Time will tell.
I am with Lew and Richard on Lagares getting rested. If 100%, he's great. But he's not 100%
A measure of "driven" is hitting with RISP. Smith is killing it in that regard this year.
To be fair to F-Mart he was undone by long standing injuries to his knees
Tonight to compare because of how quickly Conforto moved but I think he's the superior talent. Great problem to have though.
Smith and Cecchini should be getting some national prospect recognition.
As the resident Dom Smith lover of Macks Mets I agree that he's not fully getting the credit he deserves for what he's doing this year at Lucie.
He scoops a ball in dirt like an absolute pro. He hits to ALL sides of field both in air and on ground. If metsr force him to pull more to show off his power I'd be a little worried.
Regardless I've seen with my own eyes and ears and hard he hits ball to both sides of field.
Still have to give the edge to the older more seasoned Conforto. But I can't wait to see what Smith can do at AA level...........
And yes conditioning is VERY IMPORTANT with Smith. He physically looks nothing like the kid they drafted out of high school. Lets see where he goes from here with that as well.
Nice feedback, gents.
I agree if I had to pick one todayn no doubt it is Conforto. But if Smith were the same age...I dunno, he's had a tremendous last 80 games at a very young age.
Notice the comparison excluded Nimmo. I will be more sold on him when I see Brandon go on a real tear.
Nice feedback, gents.
I agree if I had to pick one todayn no doubt it is Conforto. But if Smith were the same age...I dunno, he's had a tremendous last 80 games at a very young age.
Notice the comparison excluded Nimmo. I will be more sold on him when I see Brandon go on a real tear.
Smith hitting very favorably compared to David Wright when he was at the same age and minor league level.
Tom - I recall Wright showing a lot more power -- also, Wright was in the MLB by time he was 20
Completely unrelated - this pick food pictures security tool makes me hungry
Hi Lew. David actually was 21 years, 214 days when he made the Mets
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