Dominic Smith Player of the Month

Following a vote of Pacific Coast League field managers, Las Vegas 51s' first baseman Dominic Smith has been elected the League's Player of the Month for July, the League office announced Friday. Smith, along with winners from other leagues, will be presented with an award from Minor League Baseball in recognition of his performance last month.   Smith hit .385 (42‐for-109) and led the PCL with 28 runs scored, while ranking second in the league in extra‐base hits (21), total bases (79), slugging percentage (.725) and OPS (1.162). He also hit eight home runs and drove in 26, totals that, respectively, tied for fourth and third in the PCL last month.   The 22‐year‐old reached base safely in 24‐of-26 games, a stretch that included 16 multi‐hit contests. He recorded his second career two‐homer game - and first of his Triple‐A career - with a three‐hit, four‐RBI effort on July 3 at Salt Lake. Three days later against El Paso, he drove in a career‐best six runs, to go along with three hits and three runs scored. Smith's heroics continued in a July 19 win; he plated all four runs for the 51s, including the final three on a bases clearing double in the eighth inning. The California native's month also featured a 13‐game hitting streak from July 5‐21, a stretch in which he hit .426 (23‐for‐54) with three homers and 14 RBI.   The Mets farmhand has continued to excel in his rookie season at Minor League Baseball's highest level. He is among PCL season leaders in games played (108, 1st), hits (146, 1st), doubles (33, 1st), total bases (231, 2nd), runs scored (76, 3rd) and batting average (.337, 7th). New York took Smith with the 11th overall pick of the 2013 First‐Year Player Draft out of Junipero Serra High School (CA). His decorated career has included Florida State League Most Valuable Player honors (2015) and a SiriusXM All‐Star Futures Game selection (2016). Smith, who entered the year as the Mets' No. 2 prospect, according to Baseball America, has hit .303 (608‐for‐2007) with 40 home runs and 313 RBI in 533 career games.