Mets' recent fifth-round pick worth keeping an eye on at Arizona Fall League

The Arizona Fall League is going to feature a New York Mets prospect who has been under the radar.

Mar 26, 2022; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; The New York Mets logo stands in center field before the game against the Washington Nationals at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The New York Mets' offseason is getting off to a much earlier start than many predicted it would, as a multi-month meltdown resulted in them missing the playoffs.

Attention is now turning to the team’s offseason plans. The first order of business will be watching some of the young guys participating in the Arizona Fall League, which presents an opportunity for prospects to gain some more in-game experience.

The top Mets prospect heading to play there is the versatile Chris Suero. Spending the year with High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton, Suero can play catcher, first base and left field. One of his teammates on both of those teams, D’Andre Smith, is also going to be playing in the AFL.

D'Andre Smith is worth watching in Arizona Fall League

Benjamin Chambers/Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Smith was highlighted by Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra of MLB.com as an under-the-radar prospect to keep an eye on when the AFL gets started on Monday night. A fifth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of USC, this is a great opportunity for him.

Read More: Versatile Mets prospect worth watching during Arizona Fall League play

A lot of Smith's value thus far has been in his defensive versatility, in a similar vein to Suero. He has experience playing second base, third base, center field and right field. That is a nice asset to bring to the table, but what gained him some attention this season was the improvements he made at the plate.

In his first 62 games as a professional, Smith went 50-for-214 for an underwhelming .234 batting average. But in 2025, he took his performance to another level with a .282/.345/.417 slash line, eight home runs, 18 doubles and four triples.

All of those numbers were career-highs, as were his 47 RBI and 127 wRC+. His efficiency on the basepaths was eye-catching, with 31 stolen bases in 34 attempts.

What a night for D'Andre Smith in the Rumble Ponies Eastern League Championship game.

3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, including an RBI single in the first inning to set the tone 👏 pic.twitter.com/YPRd7zrYqy

— Mets Player Development (@MetsPlayerDev) September 25, 2025

“Listed at just 5-foot-9, Smith thrives on making a good amount of contact from the right side but he can expand the zone too much at times. He got time in both outfield corners and sprinkled in some work at second base,” as written by MLB.com.

This will be Smith’s second opportunity to participate in the AFL. He played for Glendale last year and produced an underwhelming .235/.291/.353 slash line in 55 plate appearances.

Coming into the AFL with some positive momentum created this past minor league season, New York is certainly hoping he can keep things moving in the right direction. A strong showing this fall and throughout the winter could put Smith on track for a shot to play at Triple-A Syracuse out of the gate in 2026.