4 years agoNew York Mets outfielder/first baseman Dominic Smith went 1-for-3 with two walks in the Mets' 3-1 victory over the Braves on Monday. Smith, off to a slow start to begin the 2021 campaign, has been heating up of late. Over his past seven games, he has posted a slash line of .381/.480/.429 with four RBI over 21 at-bats. While his batting average and on-base percentage have improved during this hot streak, Smith is not generating counting stats in the power department. After hitting 10 home runs over 177 at-bats in 2020, Smith has only two home runs on the season (over 117 AB) with his last HR coming way back on April 13. Although his launch angle of 12.2 degrees is an improvement over his 2020 launch angle of 10.8 degrees, his other power metrics do give some cause for concern. His hard-hit rate of 33% and barrel rate of 8% are way down from his 2020 marks. In addition, his 92.2 mph exit velocity on FB/LD is 2.7 mph slower than his 2020 EV on FB/LD. Fantasy managers should continue to keep Smith active in all formats, especially during this current hot streak. That said, fantasy managers anticipating 30-plus HR production from Smith may need to temper expectations unless he can start hitting the ball with more authority as the season rolls on.--Nick Ritrivi - RotoBaller
Source: MLB.com