READY TO DOMINATE
Amazin's Smith gaining confidence, hitting for power
ATLANTA — Dominic Smith, noted contact hitter without much power before this season, might not have believed it if you had told him in spring training he would have 23 homers — between Triple-A Las Vegas and the Mets — at this point in 2017.
“I would have felt like the number was kind of lower than I was expecting,” Smith said.
BRAVES 3 METS 2
Such is Smith’s confidence level as he tries to impress on team officials he is worthy of the starting job at first base next season. Smith, who never had topped 14 homers in a season before this year, has maybe found the uppercut swing he needs.
Smith was 1-for-3 with an RBI double in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Braves. He entered play with three homers in his previous four games, giving him seven since his arrival in the majors Aug. 11. After a sluggish start, he is 15-for-50 (.300) with four homers and 12 RBIs in September.
Among players who began their major league careers with the Mets, only Mike Jacobs (11) and Ron Swoboda (10) hit more homers than Smith in their first 33 games.
“His confidence is soaring, he’s not afraid to take a good swing, a healthy swing at a pitch instead of just trying to make contact and hit a line drive someplace,” manager Terry Collins said.
The 22-year-old Smith takes pride in the fact his home-run totals have increased in each of the past three seasons: He hit only one homer in 126 games for Low-A Savannah in 2014, before increasing his total to six the following season at Single-A St. Lucie and then to 14 last year for Double-A Binghamton.
“I know [power] is one thing they wanted to see,” Smith said. “They always told me that power is the last thing that develops. For me to improve on that every year, it makes me pretty happy and I know it makes the team happy, so I am looking forward to next year, improving on these numbers, improving on my defense, improving on everything.”
The challenge for Smith might be maintaining his approach of using the entire field but pulling the ball enough to bolster his home-run total.
In the Mets’ previous series, against the Cubs, Smith was mostly pitched inside, giving him license to pull the ball.
“I will take it pitch by pitch,” Smith said. “It all just depends on the situation and the count and I know that’s when a lot of players get in trouble, they get pull happy, but if they are going to constantly pound me away this whole [Braves] series, I will be fine going that way with it.”
Smith admitted his recent success has left him less bashful at the plate.
“Sometimes when you start slow you kind of get conservative with what you want to do and your mindset kind of shifts from doing damage to trying to get a hit here and there,” Smith said. “Just stick with the whole process and approach and try to do damage, that is what I’m here for. I’m here, I’m hitting in the middle of the lineup and I’m here to drive in runs. Hit the ball hard.”