4 years agoNew York Mets outfielder/first baseman Dominic Smith went 1-for-4 in the Mets' 5-1 loss to the Marlins on Sunday. Smith had been heating up in early May, giving fantasy managers some hope, but he has fallen back into a slump. Smith is batting just .192/.276/.192 over his last seven games and has not hit a home run since April 13. This recent downturn could be due to a Mets' lineup that currently offers little in the way of protection resulting from a slew of injuries to regulars including Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil. In 2020, Smith broke out posting a .316/.377/.616 slash line, 10 HR, 42 RBI, a 0.993 OPS, and a 1.7 WAR. His 2021 metrics, which include a hard-hit rate of 33% (bottom 15% of MLB) and average exit velocity of 87.7 mph (bottom 22% of MLB), give cause for concern that he will not replicate the power numbers we saw in 2020. Although there is plenty of baseball yet to be played in 2021, it is beginning to get late early for Smith. Fantasy managers may want to bench Smith for better options at first base or in the outfield until he starts showing signs of breaking out and hitting for more power.--Nick Ritrivi - RotoBaller
Source: MLB.com