Mets prospects shine in Las Vegas debut

Mar 10, 2017; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; New York Mets shortstop Amed Rosario (61) throws to first for the out in the fifth inning of a baseball game during spring training at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2017; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; New York Mets shortstop Amed Rosario (61) throws to first for the out in the fifth inning of a baseball game during spring training at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night, in their first career games for Las Vegas, Mets prospects Dominic Smith and Amed Rosario each went 2 for 4.

While Las Vegas did lose the game by a score of 8 to 1, the performances of both prospects were a sign of what’s to come in the future.

Smith recorded a double while Rosario showed a glimpse of his true speed with a stolen base.

While their ability to get on base and run was there, that wasn’t all that made their day special. Their defense was on par as well. The two worked together to record the only double play of the game, a 3-5-3 play.

Both players seem to be continuing the immense success that they found last season with the former Binghamton Mets. Rosario hit .341 with 6 stolen bases, while Smith hit .302 with 91 runs batted in.

The success continued on Friday night. During the second game of the 51’s season, Rosario recorded one hit in four at bats while Smith, again went 2 for 4 with a double.

On Opening Day against the Mets, Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson took his 130th career at bat. As a result, he’s no longer eligible for prospect status. According to MLB Pipeline, Rosario has jumped up a spot because of this. In their rankings, he’s now the 2nd best shortstop behind only Gleyber Torres and the 4th best overall prospect.

It says a lot when the only other players ahead of you other than Gleyber are Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada.

This is the first time in more than a decade since Jose Reyes, that the Mets have had a prospect so high up in the rankings.

As for Smith, with the departure of Josh Bell‘s prospect eligibility, he is now Pipeline’s number two first baseman.

Next: Mets call up Paul Sewald, here’s what they can expect

If both players can keep building off the success they had in yesterday’s game, one of two things will happen. They will either move even further up the rankings or will be playing in Flushing before we know it.

While we wait for that moment, we’ll just keep watching the Mets dominant pitching. Soon enough, they’ll be here and we’ll  have an even better offense.

Schedule