Will Smith

Position: C
Level: Double-A
Affiliate: Tulsa Drillers
League: Texas League
Born: 03/28/1995 (Age: 29)
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 192
B/T: Right / Right
Acquired: 1st Rd., (#32 Overall), 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft (LAD)

Prospect Spotlight

Smith doesn’t have tools that jump off the page, with a prototypical stocky catcher’s build that showed average pull side raw power in by Spring Training looks. His hit tool projects to be fringy, though his feel for the barrel has improved since college and I have seen improvements even compared to my Arizona Fall League looks in 2017. Smith is likely always a lower-average hitter, but he takes walks and can run into some home runs on mistake pitches. While that’s a below-average hitter league-wide, that’s a playable offensive profile at catcher given his defensive ability. The glove and defensive instincts are the calling cards, where he’s an agile blocker who receives very quietly with low targets. His pop times are in the 1.9-to-2.0 second range, and when you add it up, there’s potential for a plus defensive catcher here. He could be an everyday regular if his bat is competitive enough to hit somewhere north of .220-.230 with 14-to-18 home runs over a full season at the ML-level.