Smith wins FSL Player of the Year honor

MiLB 

St. Lucie Mets first baseman Dominic Smith has been named the Florida State League Player of the Year, the League announced on Thursday.

Smith, 20, is rated as the New York Mets No. 6 prospect by MLB.com and is MLB.com’s No. 99 overall prospect.

“I am grateful and humbled to be voted as the Player of the Year in the FSL,” Smith said. “There are many talented players in this league and the level of competition day in and day out makes the FSL very challenging. I’d like to thank my coaches, staff, teammates and the Mets for their support and helping me become a better player. Without them this honor would not be possible.”

Smith has spent his entire 2015 season in the FSL. He is among the league leaders in several offensive categories including: batting average (.305, 5th) RBI (79, 1^st), doubles (33, 1^st), slugging (.417, 3^rd), hits (139, 4^th) and total bases (190, 5^th).

The offensive numbers really stand out considering Smith was hampered by an ankle injury for most of April and only hit .211 in his first month.

Perhaps even more impressive than the advanced offense is the spectacular defense displayed by Smith at first base. He owns a .990 fielding percentage and has been a wizard at the bag by showing off a terrific scooping ability and a quickness to stab ground balls.

Smith was the Mets first round draft pick in 2013. He was chosen 11^th overall out of Serra High School in Los Angeles, Calif. He began the season as a 19-year old and the fourth youngest player in the FSL.

Smith was named the FSL Player of the Month in July. Late in May he was named the League’s Player of the Week.

Matt Oberste and Jeff McNeil were also named 2015 FSL All Stars as designated hitter and third baseman, respectively.

Oberste has had a strong second half. Entering Thursday he’s fourth in the FSL in batting average (.306), second in slugging (.435) and second in OBP (.365). Oberste is batting .332 in the second half and he hit .381 in August.

Oberste is in his first year with St. Lucie. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2013 draft out of Oklahoma.

McNeil earned a promotion to Double-A Binghamton on Thursday. He finishes his 2015 stint in the FSL with a .312 batting average (2^nd), 146 hits (3^rd) a .373 OBP (1^st) and 80 runs (1^st). McNeil played in 112 games with St. Lucie this year and was the starting second baseman in the FSL All Star Game at Tradition Field.