Will Smith

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #5 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: An infielder by trade, Smith impressed with his ability to catch Kyle Funkhouser, Zack Burdi and other triple-digit flamethrowers at Louisville and signed with the Dodgers for $1,772,500 as the 32nd overall pick in 2016. He immediately showed the same impressive catching ability as a pro, guiding Walker Buehler, Yadier Alvarez, Dennis Santana and other high-octane arms through the Dodgers system. Despite missing a month with a deep thumb bone bruise, Smith hit a career-high 20 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018, all while splitting his time between catcher (49 games) and third base (43) so fellow catching prospect Keibert Ruiz could also get reps behind the plate.
  
  Scouting Report: Smith's best asset is his athleticism. He has quick feet, soft hands and an above-average arm he can get to from multiple angles, making him a plus defensive catcher and above-average defender at third base. Smith was a contact hitter in college, but the Dodgers reworked his swing to generate more loft. An adjustment to get ready a tick earlier revealed above-average power in 2018, although his uphill swing yields more swings and misses than expected given his solid bat speed, hands, direction and approach and drains his ability to hit for average.
  
  The Future: The Dodgers brought Smith to Los Angeles at the end of 2018 to observe how big leaguer catchers prepare. His major league debut is on the horizon in 2019.
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  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #9 prospect in 2018
  Smith caught scouts' attention as the catcher on Louisville teams loaded with pitching prospects, and the Dodgers drafted him 32nd overall in 2016 and signed him for $1,772,500. The best defensive catcher in the high Class A California League in 2017, he earned a bump to Double-A Tulsa, where a hit by pitch broke a bone in his right hand and ended his season. Smith was a high school shortstop who converted to catcher in college, and that athleticism has translated brilliantly. As a result, he is an above-average runner with quick footwork and excellent flexibility and reflexes. He is an above-average receiver with soft hands that allows him to handle 100-mph arms, and he consistently posts pop times of sub-1.95 seconds on throws to second base because of a lightning-quick transfer. He further draws high praise for his leadership behind the plate. Offensively, Smith has excellent strike-zone discipline and showed sneaky power after making swing changes at the Dodgers' request, but his contact rate dropped as a result. He faces questions about his overall hitting and contact ability. Smith will head back to Double-A Tulsa in 2018. The quality of Smith's defense can get him to the majors as a backup, while improved contact skills could make him an everyday option.
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  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #16 prospect in 2017
  With the No. 35 overall pick in the 2015 draft, the Dodgers drafted but were unable to sign Louisville ace righthander Kyle Funkhouser. The next year, they drafted Funkhouser's catcher, Smith, with the No. 32 overall pick in the first round and signed him for $1,772,500. The Dodgers pushed Smith quickly after he signed, putting him in the high Class A California League the final month of the season. A high school shortstop who converted to catching in college, Smith is extremely athletic for a backstop and a legitimate above-average runner. He has experience handling power arms on the deep Louisville pitching staff and stands out for his receiving and blocking skills. He has an average arm that plays up due to his fast exchange, throwing out 42 percent of baserunners in his pro debut. Smith has solid bat-to-ball skills with a short, flat stroke, the ability to hit to all fields and sound command of the strike zone. Smith doesn't project to hit for power but has some pull pop, enough to get to 8-12 home runs.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #74 prospect in 2016 draft
  As crosscheckers and scouting directors piled up frequent flyer miles and Marriott points to get to Louisville to see Corey Ray, Zack Burdi, Kyle Funkhouser, Drew Harrington and Nick Solak, they couldn't help but also notice Smith. Smith is a solid-average receiver who has proven his ability to handle quality stuff by catching the plus stuff on Louisville's staff. He's very athletic for a catcher (he's a plus runner) and has shown an average arm (he's thrown out 44 percent of base stealers). At the plate, Smith has below-average power but shows the ability to pull the ball over the fence. Smith does make plenty of contact; he had struck out in only 7 percent of his plate appearances this year and had been hit by more pitches (15) than he'd struck out (11) heading into the final week of the regular season. Smith doesn't project as any more than an average hitter, but it's hard to ignore his .360 batting average and his .400-plus average and .500-plus on-base percentage in ACC games.

Minor League Top Prospects

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  Ranked Pacific Coast League #8 prospect in 2019
  Smith’s annual power increase reached a pinnacle this year. He hit 20 home runs in 62 games over three stints with Oklahoma City and added 13 home runs in his first 34 major league games. Smith’s long swing leaves him vulnerable to strikeouts, but his power and patience give him enough offense to pair with his plus defense. With those skills, he took over as the Dodgers' No. 1 catcher by the end of July. "Very tough hitter at the plate and a plus defender,” El Paso manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "He will be up there for a very long time.”
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  Ranked Texas League #10 prospect in 2018
  Smith’s power numbers took a massive jump with 19 home runs in 73 games at Tulsa. His .890 OPS would have led the league if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, but Smith missed nearly four weeks with a bone bruise in his thumb and was eventually promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 1. Smith caught almost exclusively his first two seasons, but at Tulsa he started 49 games at catcher and 39 games at third base to accommodate teammate Keibert Ruiz. Smith showed the athleticism, arm strength and overall profile to handle both positions, with the potential to be a plus defensive catcher and an average third baseman. His increased power output and steady 12 percent walk rate gives him the offensive profile for both positions.
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  Ranked California League #17 prospect in 2017
  A former middle infielder with excellent athleticism, Smith showed top-notch reflexes, flexibility and footwork behind the plate at Rancho Cucamonga. The result was plus framing and blocking, consistent sub-1.95 pop times on throws to second base and the ability to handle both explosive velocity and quality breaking stuff from a talented staff. Managers named Smith the best defensive catcher in the league, and some observers consider him one of the best defensive catching prospects in the minors with his physical attributes and leadership qualities. "He's a presence on the field," Lake Elsinore manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "He manages his pitching staff very well, he positions his infielders very well, and he calls a very good game. He's physically strong--a very good athlete. But that presence on field, that's very important the position he's at, and he has that." At the plate Smith showed strong strike-zone awareness and sneaky pop, but overall grades as a fringe-average hitter due to his lack of natural hitting instincts and inconsistent feel for the barrel. Still, evaluators believe he will hit just enough to be an everyday catcher.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #95 prospect in 2019

• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Smith’s annual power increase reached a pinnacle this year. He hit 20 home runs in 62 games over three stints with Oklahoma City and added 13 home runs in his first 34 major league games. Smith’s long swing leaves him vulnerable to strikeouts, but his power and patience give him enough offense to pair with his plus defense. With those skills, he took over as the Dodgers' No. 1 catcher by the end of July. "Very tough hitter at the plate and a plus defender,” El Paso manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "He will be up there for a very long time.”
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Smith has split time between catcher and third base this season and shown well at both. He remains an above-average defender behind the plate with plus arm strength, and he’s looked like a natural at the hot corner despite a few errors as he learns the position. Offensively Smith is finding the balance between his natural contact-oriented swing and the lofted, launch-angle swing the Dodgers implemented last year, with an adjustment to get ready a tick earlier unlocking stunning power.
• December, 2017 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Smith caught scouts' attention as the catcher on Louisville teams loaded with pitching prospects, and the Dodgers drafted him 32nd overall in 2016 and signed him for $1,772,500. The best defensive catcher in the high Class A California League in 2017, he earned a bump to Double-A Tulsa, where a hit by pitch broke a bone in his right hand and ended his season. Scouting Report: Smith was a high school shortstop who converted to catcher in college. He is an above-average runner with quick footwork and excellent flexibility and reflexes. He is an above-average receiver with soft hands that allows him to handle 100 mph arms, and he consistently posts pop times of sub-1.95 seconds on throws to second base because of a lightning-quick transfer. He further draws high praise for his leadership behind the plate. Offensively Smith has excellent strike-zone discipline and showed sneaky power after making swing changes at the Dodgers request, but his contact rate dropped as a result. He faces questions about his hitting ability but answered them somewhat by batting .371 in the Arizona Fall League. The Future: The quality of Smith's defense can get him to the majors as a backup. Improved contact skills will make him an everyday option.
• December, 2015 Scouting Report
  As crosscheckers and scouting directors piled up frequent flyer miles and Marriott points to get to Louisville to see Corey Ray, Zack Burdi, Kyle Funkhouser, Drew Harrington and Nick Solak, they couldn't help but also notice Smith. Smith is a solid-average receiver who has proven his ability to handle quality stuff by catching the plus stuff on Louisville's staff. He's very athletic for a catcher (he's a plus runner) and has shown an average arm (he's thrown out 44 percent of base stealers). At the plate, Smith has below-average power but shows the ability to pull the ball over the fence. Smith does make plenty of contact; he had struck out in only 7 percent of his plate appearances this year and had been hit by more pitches (15) than he'd struck out (11) heading into the final week of the regular season. Smith doesn't project as any more than an average hitter, but it's hard to ignore his .360 batting average and his .400-plus average and .500-plus on-base percentage in ACC games.