Mets general manager Sandy Alderson announced Thursday the club will call up top first-base prospect Dominic Smith to replace the traded Jay Bruce on the roster. He'll join the team for their game against the Phillies on Friday.

The Mets continued their midsummer fire sale and traded Bruce to the Indians in what amounted to a salary dump. The club traded Lucas Duda and Addison Reed before the non-waiver trade deadline, and they could still move Asdrubal Cabrera and Curtis Granderson in waiver trades this month.  

Bruce had been splitting time at first base with Wilmer Flores since Duda was traded a little less than two weeks ago. Smith, a left-handed hitter, figures to take over the position full-time going forward. Flores could still see some first-base action against tough lefties.

Smith, 22, was the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He's hitting a stout .330/.386/.519 with 34 doubles and 19 home runs in 114 Triple-A games this season, which is still 33 percent better than average when adjusted for the extreme hitting environment in Las Vegas. Smith is more than four years younger than the average Pacific Coast League player.

MLB.com ranks Smith as the 41st-best prospect in baseball and the best pure first base prospect. Here is a snippet of their scouting report:

Smith continues to have a very advanced approach at the plate with outstanding bat-to-ball skills, leading to the consistent batting average, good walk and low strikeout rates. He started to add extra-base pop in 2015 and that translated to more over-the-fence power, particularly in the first half, in the move to Double-A in 2016 ... Smith continues to show outstanding defensive ability at first, with very good footwork and excellent hands. With his run-producing ability showing up more consistently, he is looking more and more like the everyday first baseman the Mets saw when they drafted him.

Needless to say, Smith is the first baseman of the future in Flushing. The Mets plan to use the final seven weeks of the regular season to get Smith's feet wet and give him a chance to adjust to big-league pitching. They're likely going to try to contend next year and Smith will be a big part of their core going forward.

The Mets already called up shortstop Amed Rosario, arguably the best prospect in baseball, and he's 5 for 28 (.179) in eight games. Smith, Rosario, Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes represent the future of the lineup for the Mets.