Mets prospect watch: Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith red-hot minor league shortstops

The Mets are six games behind the Nationals for the NL East lead and have disappointinglydropped off a bit into a tie with the Marlins for second place at the All-Star break.

While the team has underperformedat the big league level — and has suffered more than its fair share or injuries and setbacks, the minor league system does provide reason to be optimistic . Here’s a quick glance at the top five prospects in the Mets organization and how they’ve done lately:

Dominic Smith, Double-A Binghamton

Smith, just 21 years old, is red-hot in Double-A after a mid-season slump. He’s hit .387 over his last two games lifting his batting average nine points in that span. On July 2 he had a four-hit, two-homer, five RBI night and has 59 RBI overall through 83 games.

Amed Rosario, Double-A Binghamton

Rosario is one of the Mets’ untouchables, and has proven why over the last three weeks. After his first call-up to Double-A he has been absolutely lights out, batting with a slash line of.424/.462/.610. Rosario appears to be on the fast-track to the bigs and has a good shot at becoming the Mets’ shortstop of the future.

RELATED LINK: Lenny Dykstra is a creep

Gavin Cecchini, Triple-A Las Vegas

The Mets’ top pick in the 2012 draft, Cecchini is another shortstop in the team’s deep system and he knows how to handle the bat. He’s hitting .323 on the season and is starting to show the kind of plate discipline hitting coaches dream of, taking 10 walks in his last 10 games heading into the All-Star break.

Brandon Nimmo, MLB New York

Nimmo proved himself in Triple-A, and just over two weeks ago the ailing Mets offense needed a boost and bought his contract. Whether Nimmo remains in Queens is mostly up to him, as a .250 batting average in 44 big league at bats makes many wonder whether he is ready to play centerfield and hit at the highest level.

Wuilmer Becerra, Single-A Port St. Lucie

Becerra is a 21-year-old right fielder and was on a tear in advanced A-ball until quite recently. In his last 10 games he is hitting just .217. However, his season average is still impressive at .316 — and at his age, he has time to improve.