Called Up: Will Smith (Not That One) Heads to Chavez Ravine

The first experience I had with Will Smith was watching several people engaged in conversation about what song he should use as his walk-up music. Will’s expression implied that this was not the first time he’d heard such suggestions, but to his credit, he did settle on a few expected classics. After all, Bel Air is only about 20 miles from Chavez Ravine.

The second experience I had with Will Smith was witnessing him throwing the ball down to second base. Quick footwork and an ultra-quick release caused some wide-eyed double-takes aimed at stopwatches in the dugout at Lindquist Field in Ogden, Utah. Times ranged as low as 1.73 and few were higher than the upper-1.8’s. Smith’s athleticism and throwing ability behind the plate was immediately evident to the excited player development staff on hand.

In his first two years at his hometown University of Louisville, Smith hit a total of 15 extra-base hits in 300 plate appearances, showing good bat-to-ball skills but otherwise not a ton of offensive impact. His brief stint in the Cape Cod League after his sophomore season showed much of the same – he was a good athlete who looked like he should be able to provide value behind the plate (a position that was not familiar to Smith upon entering college, as he played the infield in high school), but not packing much punch with the bat.

Louisville’s 2016 team was loaded with draft prospects, and Smith’s performance put him in the same conversations as teammates Corey Ray, Zack Burdi, Drew Harrington, and Kyle Funkhouser. He matched his extra-base hit total from the previous two years combined in almost 100 fewer plate appearances while walking more than he struck out. His defensive prowess behind the plate was on full display as well, as he excelled while catching an impressive pitching staff that included the aforementioned Harrington and Funkhouser as starters, Burdi as a reliever, and then-sophomore Brendan McKay in the rotation.

Like many organizations, the Dodgers were enamored with Smith’s athleticism, high probability of staying behind the plate, and contact skills. The newly developing power pushed Smith’s ceiling even higher and he steadily crept his way up the draft board as the season went along and the power kept coming. The Dodgers had three first-round picks that year and used the first, the 20th overall pick, on Wisconsin high school shortstop Gavin Lux. With the second, the 32nd pick, the organization stayed within the skillset of up-the-middle players with good contact skills and selected Smith.

After making quick stops at three levels in his debut pro season, Smith spent nearly his entire 2017 campaign at High-A Rancho Cucamonga and then split time in 2018 between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. The theme that was present for Smith in college was also consistently present during his time in the Cal League – he flashed offensive potential but was somewhat inconsistent, and his defensive work was superb. It was his 73-game stretch in Tulsa in 2018, however, that saw Smith make a similar offensive impact to what he did in college. He slugged his way to a .390 wOBA and clubbed 19 home runs in 307 Double-A plate appearances, all while continuing to earn praise behind the plate.

How did he do it? He hit the ball hard in the air more often, and he pulled it a lot more often:

Smith ranks as Los Angeles’s No. 4 prospect and No. 80 overall, and his major league debut is one of several highlights of the Dodgers organization’s strength in catchers. Austin Barnes, currently on the IL, previously split time with fellow strong defender Yasmani Grandal. Smith’s development pace has been slightly ahead of fellow top prospect Keibert Ruiz, a good defender behind the plate who is a switch-hitter with elite bat-to-ball skills. Smith’s profile is not necessarily one that is abnormal, but it is one that is highly valued by the Dodgers, and some could argue possibly undervalued elsewhere. He is a strong defender with a plus arm and is athletic enough to moonlight elsewhere in the infield as needed.

Offensively, Smith has shown some tendency to swing and miss as more game power has come, but his plate discipline has always been strong as a pro (11.9% career minor league walk rate), and he could settle in as a low-average, high-OBP hitter with average-to-slightly-above-average game power. That profile is extremely attractive for any catcher, let alone one with Smith’s defensive skills. Should he hit at that rate, he has everyday upside.