Just Mets

For the last few years, the Mets minor league system has had a reputation for cultivating top-shelf, big league ready pitching.

One thing the Mets haven’t done a lot of is graduate elite hitting prospects to the big leagues in recent years. In fact, David Wright is arguably the last top-tiered bat to be developed by the club, and he arrived in August, 2004.

That could be changing in relatively short order.

ESPN’s Keith Law has ranked two Mets position players in his list of midseason top-50 prospects: OF Michael Conforto and 1B Dominic Smith.

Law ranked Conforto the 12th best prospect in the minor leagues.

“One of the most disciplined hitters in the minors, Conforto has improved as he has moved up the ladder,” Law writes. “He’s now facing pitchers in Double-A who can locate their off-speed stuff more effectively, and his ability to recognize those pitches and lay off ones just outside the zone separates him from most other hitters at that level.

Conforto, 22, has posted an .837 OPS between Single-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton this season. He’s hit ten home runs and has notched 49 RBI with 36 walks and 58 strikeouts in 83 games this season. He was the club’s first selection in the 2014 first-year player draft.

The question has become more about when Conforto will get to the Mets. For now, the plan for Conforto is to have him stay at Double-A for the rest of the year. It’s possible he could get to Triple-A, but he’s probably projected to be here by mid-July, 2016, assuming he stays healthy and continues to perform.

The Mets could always switch gears and call him up now. Sandy Alderson recently acknowledged they have discussed this option, but it’s not likely at all. Besides, he’d be brought here and asked to transform the offense in the middle of a pennant race with no allowance for growing pains, and that’s neither realistic or fair to him or his development.

But there’s no question he’s moving quickly, and his performance should ultimately dictate his movement through the minor league system.

One of the concerns with Conforto has been his defense in the outfield only because it’s a relatively new position for him. But the organization has been impressed with his growth as an outfielder, and doesn’t really view that as a problem.

As for Smith, Law ranks him 40th among his top-50 prospects at the midway point of the 2015 season.

“He’s an elite defender at first with a 70 arm, and he’ll show plus raw power in batting practice, so I believe it’ll come once he gets to a normal hitting environment in Binghamton,” Law explains about the 20-year-old Smith.

Smith has posted a .780 OPS in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League in 2015 with Single-A St. Lucie. He has four home runs, 53 RBI and 27 doubles in 78 games this season. He was the club’s first selection in the 2013 first-year player draft.

Scouts have come away very impressed with Smith in the FSL this year. He had a sub-par year in 2014 with Low-A Savannah, although like he’s done in 2015, he came on as the season progressed. His power hasn’t come around just yet, but he’s still only 20 years old and as Law said, his sweet swing is expected to produce more power as he grows and moves up to some of the higher levels in the minor leagues.