For the third time this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have called up catcher, Will Smith. The third time is the charm, right? Well, it most certainly should be.
While the catching tandem of Austin Barnes and Russell Martin have technically been above average wholistically, largely due in part to the defensive prowess of Austin Barnes, the catching department is the glaring flaw in an otherwise nearly flawless roster.
Offensively, the Dodgers catching group has been atrocious. They own the Major League’s sixth-worst wOBA (weighted on-base average) and wRC+ (weighted runs created plus). Both of these advanced offensive statistics indicate that the Dodgers catchers are well below average with the bat in their hands.
Handling the pitching staff, blocking balls and framing pitches is fine and dandy during the regular season, where Los Angeles owns a divisional lead of more than 15 games. In the postseason, however, it would be nice if the teams possessed at least one Major League hitter who also played catcher.
Enter Will Smith. The 24-year-old, prized catching prospect for Los Angeles has not only held his own but excelled at every level of minor league baseball. Yes, yes, I know, the show is a completely different animal. Minor league success does not guarantee major league success. I’ve heard it all and all of the statements possess validity.
More times than not, however, top prospects that produce at high levels in the minors usually carry over that success to the majors. Why? Good baseball players play well. I’m sure you are probably on the verge of closing the tab on this article for that last sentence, but I don’t know how else to put it. Weren’t Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, and Alex Verdugo once just prospects as well? None of their futures were certain, but they have all met or exceeded expectations thus far.
What was the common denominator for all of them? They were all top five prospects previous to their Major League promotions and they all produced at levels that were too high to justify being kept in the minor leagues. Will Smith is no different than the rest of his predecessors.
Falling victim to small sample size is something we all allow to happen to us from time to time. I admit, as much as I attempt not to become a prisoner of the moment, oftentimes I simply cannot help it. Also, I know that being “clutch” is not really something that can accurately be quantified in statistics, but wow. Perhaps it is just me being a biased fan with emotions, but Will Smith, like teammate Matt Beaty, has already proven he is not only capable of hitting at the highest level but more importantly, he has the ability to control the moment. He has the rare ice in his veins that the Dodgers haven’t seen in a catcher in a long time.
Featured Image Credit: (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)