The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the San Diego Padres over the weekend, and Will Smith played a major part in that.
On Saturday, Blake Snell struggled to get into a rhythm early and dealt with some traffic on the bases.
The Padres attempted to steal three times in the first two innings, but Smith threw out each baserunner. Three of the first four outs the Dodgers recorded were via Smith’s arm, and it allowed Snell to end up settling in.
“It was big,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, we feel that Will is the best catcher in baseball in totality, and tonight, he showed it with his arm.
“Essentially they played 24 outs. And so we look at that first inning and how the pitch count was creeping up there for Blake, but to get help by way of the caught stealings was was huge, and it got Blake into rhythm.
“Anytime you can get outs on a base is big. So that was big for Will.”
Last season, Smith led MLB by throwing out 33.3% of base stealers. This year he’s thrown out 27.9% of runners, which ranks 17th among catchers with at least 100 innings. However, his 24 caught stealings lead all catchers.
In addition to his arm, Smith has been having an MVP-caliber season with his bat. He’s hitting .306/.413/.514 with 15 home runs, 54 RBI, 58 runs and a 160 wRC+.
Smith’s wRC+ trails only Cal Raleigh (162) of the Seattle Mariners, and he’s also second in on-base plus slugging with a .927 mark, compared to Raleigh’s .953 OPS.
But Since Smith’s debut in 2019, no catcher has been more productive on offense. His .836 OPS and 128 wRC+ lead the way among all backstops, and his 22.1 WAR trails only the Philadelphia Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto, who has nearly 100 more games played.
Overall, Smith does not grade out particularly well defensively as he ranks in the first percentile of pitch framing and below average at blocking, but his arm help makes up for that.
Roberts also praised Smith earlier in the year, sharing his opinion on why the Dodgers’ backstop is better than Raleigh.
Will Smith on Hall of Fame trajectory?
Although he’s just 30 years old, Smith is already a two-time World Series champion and three-time All-Star.
He is also one of the best offensive catchers in MLB history to this point in his career, which has Smith on a Hall of Fame track. Smith’s OPS ranks 10th all-time among MLB catchers, while his wRC+ ranks 11th.
Smith is also 74th all-time among MLB catchers with 126 home runs, and with 24 more, he would move into the top-50. If Smith reaches 200, he would enter the top-24.
Smith needs to continue producing for another few seasons, and if that happens, he will one day be inducted into Cooperstown.
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