One of the biggest surprises for the Los Angeles Dodgers during 2019 season was the emergence of Will Smith, who made his MLB debut in May and went on to overtake Austin Barnes for starting duties behind home plate.
Smith burst onto scene, tying the Major League record for the most home runs hit in a player’s first 28 games (12). Though he cooled down some in September, he still batted .253/.337/.571 with nine doubles, 15 home runs and 42 RBI over 196 plate appearances (54 games).
Prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) bringing MLB to a halt in March, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed Smith was slated for an even bigger role this year.
Now that the 2020 season has been reduced to 60 games, Smith likely won’t appear in as many contests as he would have in a full year. Nonetheless, Smith is ready to catch as many games as the Dodgers ask of him. “I feel good,” he began.
“My body feels really good. It’s just getting those catching legs under me and trying to ramp that up as fast as possible without wearing down too quick. Get ready to catch however many games they throw my way.”
Having recently turned 25, Smith believes ramping up quickly for the 2020 season won’t be an issue for him. “Not really,” he said when asked if the long layoff had a negative effect on his routine. “I still feel like I’m young and I can adapt pretty well.”
Smith kept active during the hiatus, approaching it as he would during the winter. “I treated it like an offseason,” he said. “I worked out like it was the offseason and I was getting ready for a 162-game season, knowing that if I can be ready for that I can definitely be ready for 60.
“You go to the cage five or six days a week, throwing five or six days a week, doing catching drills a few times a week. I was just keeping my body in shape. I wasn’t too affected by the quarantine other than I missed playing baseball.”
Smith was one of five catchers included on the Dodgers’ initial player pool, along with Austin Barnes, Diego Cartaya, Rocky Gale and Keibert Ruiz.
Dodgers protecting against overworking Smith, Barnes
As pitchers build up their innings in Summer Camp, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came up with a creative solution to give his backstops some rest. “In the spirit of versatility, we have a clubhouse staff member who can catch ‘pens and we have a couple coaches who can,” Roberts said.
“We’re making sure Will, Austin and Rocky are not taking too much work on. We have some other guys mixing in and catching bullpens.
“I think it will be easier once we get into a routine where guys aren’t throwing bullpens every day and there’s more flat ground catch play. Fortunately we’ve got some coaches and clubhouse guys who can help.”
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