Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Most MLB mock drafts for 2013 indicate that the New York Mets will choose between first basemen D.J. Peterson and Dominic Smith this season, an interesting choice between two very talented players. While many do believe that the Mets would like the take Clint Frazier or Ryne Stanek, general consensus seems to indicate that neither talent will fall.
Both Smith and Peterson have serious power, similar builds and have shown ability to hit for average. So what distinguishes the two from each other?
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For starters, dexterity. Smith is a left-handed batter, and Peterson is right-handed. Because of their handedness, they have played different positions at school. Smith, in addition to first base, played outfield and pitcher, showing a very strong arm with fastball that topped out at 92 mph and sat in the 89-91 range.
Peterson, on the other hand, is primarily a third baseman right now, but his build is what suggests he should be a first baseman in the pros.
Another important difference is the fact that Dominic Smith is a high school prospect while Peterson is out of college. Both clearly have premier power and the high school competition in California is generally very competitive, but in all likelihood it would be fair to consider Peterson more polished, playing in a competitive Mountain West conference.
On average, college prospects tend to hit the big leagues a year and a half sooner, so Peterson on the surface seems like a surer bet.
The last way in which they are differentiated is their swing styles. Both have some bat-flick in their swing and obvious loft, but both have some little idiosyncrasies that could work to their disadvantage in the big leagues. Smith features a relatively big leg kick that is critical to the timing of his swing, and generally kicks that pronounced can lead to timing issues on off-speed pitches.
In contrast, Peterson tends to lean into the ball a bit, which could also lead to a lot of swings and misses and loss of opposite field power.
Both players have monstrous power and plenty of supplementary tools to be productive players, but the Mets may be better off with Dominic Smith, who displays very similar ability to Peterson at a younger age, and is a left-handed bat who can play the outfield effectively as well.
While a team shouldn’t draft for MLB need in general, Peterson’s third base skills may not come in handy for the Mets for a long, long time.
