ECB Alumni Josh Smoker (Mets) back up to 98 mph!

Left-hander Josh Smoker was the 31st overall pick in the 2007 draft out of high school in Georgia, three slots ahead of Todd Frazier and six slots ahead ofTravis d’Arnaud. Injuries, however, undermined Smoker’s career in theWashington Nationals system.

With his fastball mph sagging to the mid-80s, Smoker was released after reaching high-A with Washington in 2012. He pitched in relief for Rockford in the independent Frontier League last season and figured he would give independent ball one more shot this season before calling it a career.

Then a freelance scout found him and alerted the Mets.

With Smoker healthy and with his velocity back in the mid-90s, the scout alerted the Mets to the southpaw’s revival, coinciding with the end of spring training.

Smoker, 26, has breezed from Savannah to St. Lucie and now to Binghamton this season. Through 10 relief appearances with the Double-A B-Mets, he has a 1.64 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 11 innings. He is sitting at 95-96 mph with his fastball and touching 97-98.

“There was a point a couple of years ago when I pretty much thought I was done,” Smoker said. “I was planning on going back to independent ball this year just to kind of play one more year and have fun with it. I really wasn’t expecting much to come from it. Luckily it did. Sometimes things happen when you least expect it.

“I think the biggest difference is I’m finally healthy. Before, every time I picked up the ball, it seemed like my arm was going to fall off. It’s good to finally be healthy. I had a few shoulder surgeries. It was labrum and cuff. It was from a bone spur that was rubbing everything. I just ended up tearing it all up. So I got that all cleaned up and taken care of and now everything feels good.”

Just how close did Smoker come to being out of baseball?

“I was in independent ball a little bit last year, and I was trying to get with some teams. Nobody was really giving me any looks,” Smoker said. “The guy that usually catches my bullpens in the offseason couldn’t do it. So he hooked me up with another guy. And he just happened to be birddog scout [Paul Fletcher]. He’s a pitching coach for the York Revolution. He said he catches their guys sometimes when they’re low on catching. He caught me. And I guess he gave the Mets a call and that’s how it happened.”