Mets prospect watch: Gavin Cecchini, Brandon Nimmo on fire in Triple-A

The Mets have fallen a ways behind the first place Nationals in the NL East, and will be fighting to get back to the postseason — and the World Series — with a talented pitching staff but lackluster offense.

The farm system happens to be teeming with hitting prospects, some of whom could be ready for the jump to the majors before the end of the season, and some of whom need more fine tuning in the minors. Here’s a quick glance at the top five:

Dominic Smith, Double-A Binghamton

Smith, just20 years old, is red hot in Double-A, boasting eight hits in his last six games and a .297 batting average over his last 10. Over that span, the first baseman has improved his batting average 30 points. He also has 38 RBI in 58 games and could be moved to Triple-A sometime soon.

Amed Rosario, Single-A Port St. Lucie

Rosario, also20, is even hotter than Smith in the Florida State League, boasting a .372 batting average in his last 10 games with eight doubles and eight triples. The shortstop is another candidate for a promotion sometimesoon as the Mets’ front office would surely like to see how Rosario handles pitching at the next level.

Gavin Cecchini, Triple-A Las Vegas

Cecchini was the Mets’ top pick in the 2012 draft and the first rounder has been a consistent middle of the order hitter in the top rung of minor league competition. He’s hit .311 over 48 games and has played a solid shortstop to boot. He also recorded three-hit games on June 3 and 7.

Brandon Nimmo, Triple-A Las Vegas

Talk about red-hot hitting, Nimmo, a centerfielder, has hit .462 over the last 10 games and is up to .330 on the season. He also has an impressive 25 extra base hits, five of them triples and five homers. He does strike out a lot (38 in 51 games) but the 23-year-old is making a convincing case for his big-league readiness.

Wuilmer Becerra, Single-A Port St. Lucie

The 21-year-old right fielder was destroying A-ball pitching and appears to slowly be coming back to earth. Prior to sitting out a handful of games to start June, Becerrahit at a .237 clip in his last 10 games. But that only lowered his batting average from .363 to .338.