As part of their 2024 bullpen and depth chart make-over, the Mets signed Chad Smith to a minor league deal back in December. Chad Smith was drafted twice, first in 2015 by Cleveland and then in 2016 by Miami. When Cleveland drafted Smith he played for Wallace State Community College then he transferred to the University of Mississippi. Waiting the extra year and transferring schools took him from a 23rd round pick to the 11th round.
In 2020 the Marlins traded to the Rockies. Smith then got traded again after the 2022 season to the Athletics. Smith would make his major league debut with the Rockies and pitch in a few games across 2022 and 2023 before signing with the Mets at the end of the season. Over 25 major league games and 31 2/3 innings Smith posted a 7.11 ERA, 1.674 WHIP, 5.26 FIP and a 63 ERA+. These numbers were echoed in the minors last season as well. Over 34 2/3 innings in Las Vegas he posted an 8.57 ERA with a 2.077 WHIP fueled by a 10.9 H/9 and a 7.8 BB/9. Obviously not great, but his strikeout rate was 10.9 K/9. Over the last three seasons he posted double digit strikeout rates in the minor leagues.
Smith is known as a groundball pitcher and that was the bright spot in his short spurt in the majors. Between both seasons got batters to hit it on the ground 55.2% of the time. His weakness though also came in his short time in majors – opponents worked out walks 15.2% of the time. According to Baseball Savant he throws a mid-90’s fastball 56% of the time and a mid-80’s slider 42% of the time. Occasionally (3%) he will throw a high-80’s changeup.
The Mets came into 2024 clearly lacking pitching depth. Chad Smith’s minor league strikeout rates and his major league ground ball rates are intriguing. If he starts to improve his control, he could force his way into the major league roster at some point this season. This is exactly what we are going to look for this spring – groundballs, strikeouts, limited walks.
