NY Mets: Three players who could have a J.D. Davis year in 2020

Drew Smith – RP

I wanted to get at least one pitcher on this list. Among all of the positions, it’s the pitchers I suspect will face injuries most.

My choice for someone to seemingly rise up and become a major player this season is reliever Drew Smith. You may remember him from such Mets trades as the 2017 deal involving Lucas Duda. You may have forgotten about him because he missed all of 2019 following Tommy John Surgery.

Smith did provide a sneak peek of his talent in 2018 when he was one of the few Mets relievers capable of getting the job done. While it was only 28 innings and a 3.54 ERA performance, Smith has shown other signs that he may be a big league reliever.

Throughout his minor league career, Smith has put up fantastic numbers. He’s a true “preventer of runs.” Going back to 2015, he has ERAs of 0.29, 2.96, 16.5, and 2.68. I know this doesn’t mean he’s the future Mets closer or even a guy who will have recovered fully from surgery. I’m rolling the dice on Smith. I think he has been overlooked and has an opportunity to become an important part of the 2020 Mets.

There are obstacles in Smith’s way to getting there and becoming the pitching version of Davis. Smith is down on the depth chart and will have to earn his way onto the Mets roster then continually fight to stay.

Maybe I’m a sucker for underdogs. Whatever it is, Smith is a guy who could creep into the Mets bullpen and help stabilize what has far too often become a weakness for the organization.

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Which players do you think could have an unexpectedly awesome year like J.D. Davis did in 2019?