In the 2013 Draft, the Mets selected Dominic Smith with their first pick. In the seventh round, they drafted Matt Oberste. For the past three years, these two guys who play the same position have been teammates. It must be a tiny bit awkward yet the two players are both making a name for themselves, even if in entirely different ways.
Everyone knows Smith’s story. A prepster from California, Smith was a 1B/OF who the Mets immediately installed at first base. They love his defense and they love his swing. And for several years, the club kept insisting that there was untapped power. Many scouts were high on Smith right away and he’s always listed among the team’s top prospects.
The birthday boy Oberste grew up in Oklahoma and played collegiately in Norman. After being undrafted as a junior, Oberste returned to Oklahoma for his senior season and put up a .373/.458/.622 line, prompting the Mets to take him on the 7th round. The prevailing thought has been that Oberste will go as far as his bat takes him.
After the draft, Smith went to the Gulf Coast League while Oberste went to the New York-Penn League. Smith hit right away while Oberste had trouble with his professional debut. The next year they were both teammates in Lo-A Savannah, with Smith manning first base and Oberste taking over as the club’s designated hitter.
Smith got off to a slow start but in the heart of the season, from late April to mid-August, he batted .311 with a .383 OBP. But he displayed almost no power, hitting just 1 HR in 518 PA that season. Oberste had sporadic playing time until mid-June but put up good numbers once he got consistent playing time. From 6/12 to 8/22, Oberste had a .319/.366/.531 line in 228 PA. He had 25 XBH in that span, including 8 HR.
Both guys found themselves at Hi-A St. Lucie in 2015, with Smith again getting the playing time at first base. After playing in a pitcher’s park in Savannah, they moved to a friendlier environment. But as a whole, the Florida State League is a pitcher’s league. The two saw their stats improve at the higher level. Smith saw his OPS rise from .683 to .771 while Oberste tacked on 35 points of OPS.
Our duo found themselves in Binghamton for 2016, where Mets hitters usually enjoy a bump in productivity. After hitting 10 HR in his first three seasons of pro ball, Smith has hit 12 homers so far in Double-A. And Oberste has one more homer than he had last year, in 105 fewer PA.
Yet we also see a continuation of our differences theme in play here.
Smith, top draft pick, high school guy, black, Californian, lefty hitter – has a .958 OPS in home games and a .630 mark in road parks. The difference is all batting average, as he’s hitting .366 at home compared to .218 away from NYSEG Stadium.
Oberste, mid-round pick, collegiate senior, white, Oklahoman, righty hitter – has a .652 OPS in his home park and an .871 mark in neutral road parks.
Obviously, you’d like to see guys perform well in all splits. Clearly, NYSEG Stadium is a good environment for Smith. Still, a .218/.273/.358 mark on the road for Smith is a troubling thing. And that includes his last three games on the road against the … wait for it … Hartford Yard Goats, where he’s gone 7-15. Prior to that series, Smith was batting just .197 on the road this season.
And it’s nice to see Oberste thriving once he leaves what is a tough home park for him. While he’s posted a solid doubles total at NYSEG Stadium, he’s got three times as many triples and homers (6) on the road than he does at home (2) while also posting an AVG 63 points higher.
Celebrating his 25th birthday today, time is working against Oberste. He’ll move on to Triple-A next year and it won’t be a surprise if he turns in a big hitting performance in the friendly confines of Las Vegas. What was true before still holds – he’ll go as far as his bat will take him.
Meanwhile, Smith has passed the Double-A test with flying colors. While he was scuffling when Lucas Duda first hit the DL, he’s been raking ever since. In his last 224 PA, Smith has a .327/.388/.513 line. It would be nice to see a little more power but that’s still very strong production for a 21 year old at this level.
So, we’re likely to see the Mets’ Odd Couple as teammates again for a fourth year in 2017 at Las Vegas. And who knows, maybe they’ll be teammates in Queens next year, too.
“Clearly, NYSEG Stadium is a good environment for Smith…Prior to that series, Smith was batting just .197 on the road this season.”—
Brian, as someone who loves baseball and lives outside of Hartford–it must be pointed out that the new stadium in Hartford (after the New Britain Rock Cats owner moved the team from New Britain to Hartford 12 miles away) was not completed in time for this season and the Yard Goats have played this entire season on the road–sometimes they’ve used Norwich (home of the Connecticut Tigers in NYPL) and sometimes played “home games” in Binghamton.
Thus, Dom Smith’s uptick on the road recently –really occurred in his home ballpark!
Imagine the nightmare for any sabermetricians or stat geeks who are trying to do home / road splits for Hartford?
Excellent information Chris! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve noticed that the box scores show Oberste getting playing time at 3B. Are there any scouting reports showing how well he plays the position?
I’m unaware of any scouting reports but his defensive numbers are similar to other guys who’ve played 3B for the team this year.
Oberste – .968 Fldg%, 2.31 RF/G
Gibson – .944, 2.27
Evans – .966, 2.15
I wouldn’t make any conclusions based on this. But at the very least, he hasn’t been a disaster out there.
And with the org’s need of a 3B – why not?
Unless Oberst can play another position I can’t see them both in Queens at all…maybe he’s trade bait somewhere
As Zach Lutz, Josh Satin, Eric Campbell and others have shown – if you hit, you can reach the majors.
I keep trying to figure out if this is a joke or not. Still undecided.
Smith is an all or nothing guy— Lefty…Slow…. he cannot wear a glove other than 1b
Oberste could project at some corner spots–1b, 3b, lf. 25 at AA is not a clear path.
Is there a uniqely offensive advantage at Bingy?….. Home/Road splits on a 21 year old player should be one of the less durable offensive traits
I’ve never heard of one but it’s very possible that one exists. Baseball-Reference puts all of their splits information for a year together. So, if a guy plays at two levels, you can’t isolate it unless you do it by hand. Conforto, Nimmo and Flores all played at two different levels when they were at BNG.
As for the split itself, it has less to do with a player’s age and more to do with ballpark configuration, especially with older parks.
What does Smith being black and Oberste being white have anything to do with this conversation?
Nothing more than Smith batting lefty and Oberste batting righty.
I suspect Brian was going for Something Poetic… an Ebony and Ivory Patina
Great story Brian! Loved it. An aspect not touched on in the article is that these two guys are very good friends. Would be a great storyline to see them manning the hot corners in Queens in a year or two.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Mark!
It’s wonderful to hear that these guys get along. Hope Matt is still wearing his socks high like he did when he played for Savannah.
Always trying to be unique. Luckily he ditched the mohawk/mullet !